South Arkansas food truck business shut down temporarily because of food poisoning

A South Arkansas food truck business is shut down because of numerous reports of food poisoning. NBC 10’s Joel Massey has more from El Dorado with someone who got sick and what to watch out for when preparing food this summer.

Hachi Hachi hibachi grill was a popular place to get a quick bite in downtown Ed Dorado. But they are now shut down indefinitely after complaints of food poisoning that started to happen about 2 weeks ago. Daniel Johnston was one of the folks who got sick.

“Unfortunately, that day I ate here I got my food and went back to work and ate it immediately afterwards I began to throw up out of both ends.”

For Johnston it was a chicken dish that made him sick, and others have complained of bad shrimp as well. The outbreak resulted in dozens of people taking to Facebook to warn others of the tainted food.

“It surprised me how much it impacted this whole community. When I go to restaurants, I expect them to handle their food correctly.”

The Japanese grill may not have been following some safety guidelines when it comes to temperature. According to the USDA bacteria can multiply rapidly and perishable foods like chicken, shrimp and vegetables, should avoid the danger zone and not sitting out for more than two hours. Beyond that two hour window cold foods must be kept at 40 degrees or below and hot foods should be more that 140 degrees to stay safe.

Johston hasn’t written the food truck off entirely, and if and when they reopen, he will give them another chance.

Their food trucks in Camden and Magnolia, Arkansas, are shut down as well. We reached out to the owner for comment, but he did not get back into contact with us.