Bad milk got my daughter sick

For the people who are saying it would take hours for her daughter to
get sick from bad milk, you try letting milk go bad and drink it and
drink a 3/4 of a glass of it, see how long it takes you to feel the
effect, then consider that this is a small child who's system that
milk will go through a lot faster than yours. On top of that, to
people who say that their entire bill shouldn't be comped are
ridiculous in my opinion. The little girl threw up all over everyone's
food, uhhh, I dont think they would want to eat it after that, so
thanks to the restaurant if it was the milk that did it, their entire
meal would was ruined. Maybe it's just me but I wouldn't have an
appetite after that show nor would I trust the restaurant for more
food, therefore simply remaking our dishes and moving us to another
table wouldn't be an option so yeah, COMP. Lastly to the person who
suggested taking the daughter to the doctor just to see if it was the
milk, I truely understand your intentions BUT that doctor bill would
cost more than their tab so why would they spend more just to get
their tab money back, and wouldn't the restaurant rather not pay for
the additional bill, and just pay back the freakin tab. Just my
Opinion!

Did you bother to answer the question they asked? For all you know,
your daughter could've eaten some foreign food at preschool or
something. You really should think before you leap.

It's sad you would have to do this, but in the future, you might ask
where the milk is dispensed from. I am an Asst. GM in a different
restaurant chain and we keep out milk in a temperature-controlled
dispenser. It goes directly from the cooler to the dispenser. If
they're keeping it in a jug @ the service station, you might risk
contamination and spoilage if the temperature is not strictly
maintained below 41 degrees F.

I had this problem at a restaurant when my daughter was small. I
cannot remember which one it was, only that I made her drink her milk
not knowing it was bad. The date on the carton was well away from the
present time. I had checked it before she drank it. Turns out someone
had left a tray out, it got warm, then put it back in the fridge. We
got free drinks, and they threw out the old ones. Ever since then,
I've tasted her milk before letting her have it. Only one other time,
last summer at Hershey Park, did we get another spoiled milk.

Usually the milk that is served to customers is a seperate jug kept up
by the servers.
I'm not sure that "lots" of ppl would have wound up sick if the milk
was bad. I'm a server, and I serve MAYBE 1 or 2 glasses of milk per
night. But that could be the area/crowd that I'm in.
I would have comped your meal, if only b/c it's always safer to comp a
meal than risk a legal issue. BUT I think the main thing is, the milk
was thrown out, and no one else had to get sick.

Some good points were made

1)It is unlikely for this milk to cause the children to throw up
immediately

2)If the milk was bad, somehow, a lot more people would have been
sick. (An offnote question: would they serve the same milk they would
use for cooking?)

3)Food Poisoning usually takes hours and hours. Someone quoted 2-6
hours, I know it can take longer. Could the children have eaten
something earlier that caused them to be ill?

4) You mentioned soap in the glass. Is it likely TWO glasses out of
what I assume dozens and dozens at this restaurant were tainted?

5)Flu season!

I'm not trying to be harsh, I sympathize. I think it is a little
unfair for you to lunge over Outback when it doesn't really seem like
they are at fault. Not yet, anyway. The managers tried to help.

Okay I had to re-read this letter a couple times (why oh why do people
insist on telling a huge story in one paragraph?). It's extremely
possible the two children were sick for different reasons.

Again, before people jump all over me, I'm not trying to troll here
but.... I don't think this is a valid excuse for overlooking obvious
logic.

You are pretty sick to even suggest that I would poison my child to
get a free meal. Maybe that is how your mind works - shame on you.

It occurred to me tonight when I was doing the dishes that the milk
might not have been bad. The glass might not have been washed well;
there might have been a soapy residue in the glass. It wouldn't have
been food poisoning and a soapy taste might not have been detected,
and it still would have made the children ill. It would also explain
the short time lapse.

That does not excuse the restaurant; when one eats out, one is paying
for not only food but the use of clean dishes.

I've read the other comments... UGH (to some of you - for shame!) I
hope your daughter is feeling much better now.

Something I don't understand is why does the writer believe she should
get a free meal out of her daughter's misfortune?

If there were medical bills involved and the restaraunt was at fault,
then she would be entitled to some sort of compensation. But it
doesn't appear this was the case.

Kids do get sick and throw up. That's a fact of life. If it was
Outback's fault, it would be nice of them to send a couple of coupons
her way but I don't see where this warrants a free meal.

If it was the milk that made the children sick, well it is Outback's
responsibility to make sure that their milk is not past it's due date.
But another posibility is that this milk was not past it's due date
but just happened to be bad milk. It looks perfectly okay but once
you drink it you know something is wrong with it. A four year old
would not know this and would drink the milk especially if they were
taught not to be fussy.

They threw the milk out so I am assuming that this was the problem.
It can take only 15 minutes for the bad food to make you sick.
However before you try to get money for your dinner make that it is
proven that your daughter got sick from the milk and not the flu. If
you had taken your child to a doctor and he or she confirmed that it
was the milk that made your daughter sick and there was nothing else
wrong with her then you have a case and will probably get your meals
replaced. From what happened I don't think you will get your meal's
replaced. You may get coupon's for your next visit but that's about
it.

Had the milk been the cause then dozens and dozens of patrons would
have been lined up at ER, and it would be in the headlines in the
morning paper. Food poisoning shows up 12 - 48 hrs after consuming a
tainted product. Most people cannot see that far back, especially if
THEY were the ones feeding their children then. They tend to blame the
most immediate event. My daughter got sick once during dinner out. It
turned out to be a mysterious disease called "the flu." Darn! I was
really hoping to get some freebies out of the deal too!

Wooooow!!! I never thought this letter would get this much response.

Since I havent been able to spend as much time around here this week
thanks to my life falling apart I will just say this...


I am sorry it happend. Its horrible to see any child sick and I am
sure it was embarrasing as well.

I hope it doesnt happen to you again.

I think it's a GOOD thing the manager was asking. You don't mess with
restraunts & foodborne illness, and he was taking every precaution to
be sure that it actually WAS the milk. (which it sounds like it was)

I don't know, i'm on the fence about this one. Your dinner was ruined
by a bad product..but I don't think they owe you the entire check
either.

A similar thing happened to me when I was about 8. I'm partially
lactose intolerant and can only have 1 or 2% milk without getting
sick. I'm a big fan of chocolate milk though, always have been, and
when I was 8 I didn't realize that restaurants might serve a different
kind of milk than my mom would buy at the store. So when I ordered the
chocolate milk at the restaurant I didn't realize it was whole milk
they gave me, and threw up all over the place.

Milk doesn't have to be "bad" to make a kid sick.

According to the NIH, symptoms of foodbourne illness do not usually
manifest until 2 to 6 hours after the food is ingested.

So your daughter most likely didn't get sick from Outback, nor did the
other little boy. It was a coincidence.

That said, if you are still really concerned about it, you should
contact the Board of Health for the town where the restaurant is
located. They will inspect the facility and make sure they are
complying with all health regulations.

After all, I'm sure you are more concerned with public safety than you
are with getting comped for your meal, right?

I'm posting here rather than reply to all those nasty people who think
it's your fault that the restaurant served spoiled milk. First let me
say that I'm sorry that happened to your daughter and secondly, that
you came here to share your experience and got answers from a bunch of
insensitive morons who either work for Outback or just have nothing
better to do with their time than blast someone for complaining. You
have every right to be upset and I would call the health department.
Please see my full response titled "WHAT"?? under the last nasty
person's reply. Boy, are people cranky!

When you found out that the other kid who was throwing up also had
milk (leading you to assume that it was the milk), why didn't you go
sniff the 1/4 of your daughter's milk that was left? Then you would
have known that it was the milk and not just a coincidence. The
"barfing flu" is going around right now, and it comes on quickly.
That's a possibility as to why these kids threw up.
You really should have checked the cup before leaving the restaurant.
Without being able to prove that it was the milk, you don't have a
complaint with Outback.

Did you offer to pay for dinner at the table next to you since your
kid puked on them and ruined their dinner?

You stated that your daughter's milk "tasted like hamburger" and she
doesn't like hamburger. Why in the world would your kid drink 3/4 of
something that she didn't like the taste of?! I don't know many four
year olds that wouldn't voice their dislike of a food or drink item.
Maybe she tried to tell you after the first couple of sips that her
milk tasted funny, and maybe you were too busy socializing with your
friends to pay any attention to her. Yes, Outback should check the
milk, but this whole story sounds a little fishy to me...