A salmonella epidemic attributed to San Diego’s Aladdin Mediterranean Café has sparked harsh legal and public health consequences. At least 98 suspected and confirmed cases have been reported, with more than 60 customers suing for food poisoning after eating at the Clairemont restaurant between April 25 and May 1, 2025. The restaurant voluntarily shut down on May 1 pending a county investigation but reopened May 13 in direct opposition of the unbranded cause of the epidemic.
Scope of outbreak and health consequences
San Diego County Public Health officials initially detected the salmonella outbreak, responsible for sickening customers between 1 and 90 years, with nine hospitalizations. Symptoms ranged from heavy diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, chills, nausea, and dehydration, with some victims needing intravenous fluids and prolonged medical attention. Plaintiff Nubia Munguia was hospitalized after consuming a lamb and chicken dinner at the café on April 26.
County health officials initially blamed the 14 illnesses on the restaurant but later reduced the number of cases to 90 probable and repeat infections. Even though no one died in the outbreak, it did prove to have flaws in food safety practices, as the café had seven prior infractions for improper food temperature control.
Timeline of closure and reopening
Aladdin Mediterranean Café voluntarily shut down May 1 to allow for county-led environmental inspections and food sampling. There were several visits by health officials, a visit on May 2 being one of them, that found no active violations, but a routine inspection on April 29 had found a “major” food handling violation and a “minor” temperature control violation. In spite of these, the county allowed the restaurant to reopen on May 13 after not being able to pinpoint the source of the outbreak.
Owner Hamdi Abuklaf defended the establishment’s 32-year history of “A” health ratings and emphasized corrective actions, including discarding $70,000 worth of food and retraining staff. “We’re humans, not angels,” Abuklaf stated, acknowledging potential lapses while disputing allegations of negligence.
Legal actions and plaintiff allegations
Three suits have been brought through May 15, with over 50 clients being handled by national food safety firm Ron Simon & Associates. The first suit was brought on May 6 by Daniel Meza and Nubia Munguia and says that the café served contaminated lamb and chicken meals, which caused salmonella poisoning. A second suit by a couple of diners who ate on April 26 says the same thing and includes positive test results.
Victims are looking to be paid for medical bills, lost wages, and emotional distress. “I lost two weeks of work and fell behind on a couple of bills,” one of the victims explained. Attorney Ron Simon explained the objective is to get “full compensation” and to have the café employ stricter safety protocols.
Unresolved source and continuing issues
In spite of extensive field investigations, county investigators have yet to locate the food or preparation that initiated the outbreak. Chicken, lamb, and beef were all common among infected patrons but cross-contamination or vendor problems are still probable. Inability to determine one source has cast suspicion on plaintiffs, who are seeking accountability from restaurant and its providers.
Public health officials are coordinating with the state, tracking the case, and investigating, and they advise that all those who had eaten at the café last spring should see a doctor if they develop symptoms. The case also shows the difficulty of tracking foodborne illness as well as legal issues for businesses that have multi-victim outbreaks.
Food Safety and Hospitality teams can learn from the Aladdin Mediterranean Café outbreak. Although the swift shutdown of the restaurant and compliance with authorities were to be applauded, the incident does point to failures in proactive risk management. Future litigation will depend on whether previous cases of non-compliance by the café establish a pattern of oversight or whether there were alternative agencies involved, e.g., contaminated ingredients. Pursuit by the plaintiffs for accountability, as it stands, speaks to continuing human and economic cost of foodborne illness outbreaks.
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