Chicago cab drivers are demanding that riders who throw up in their cabs get slapped with a $50 fee.

The cabbies said Thursday they want to the city impose the penalty because of the work -- and hours lost -- that comes with cleaning a passenger's vomit.

Mayor Richard Daley said his administration will listen to the drivers' request and review their recommendations.

Two years ago a salmonella outbreak traced to hummus made 700-plus people sick at the Taste of Chicago outdoor food festival in Chicago, IL. The annual festival lasts for 10 days, and millions of people attend. This year 60 health inspectors will be patrolling the venue attempting to prevent another outbreak, reports Chi-Town Daily News.

As city food inspectors, their main focus is the potential disease lurking in the pizza, turkey legs, corn, elephant ears and countless other treats cooked at the Taste's outdoor booths…This year, the city's Department of Public Health is deploying about 60 staff members – trained food inspectors and supervisors – to continually drop by the 56 vendor booths, making sure the food stays safe.

Frances Guichard, director of Chicago District Public Health’s food protection division, said,                 

“We are in more of a role of consultation.”

Explaining that,

Inspectors visit each vendor between four and six times a day, taking the temperature of food, ensuring storage and service conditions are sanitary and giving vendors assistance, if they need it. If food temperatures are too low or too high, inspectors will recommend the food be thrown away.

The most common reason for a booth to be shut down is if no manager is present while food is being served to patrons. And, even then, a restaurant can begin serving food as soon as a manager returns.

I’m glad inspectors are at the event -- it may help food handlers to be aware of their potential impact on food safety -- but as Doug mentioned last year, there are certain components of food safety that can’t be monitored by inspectors, like food from a safe source.

It’s not swine flu, it’s people coming to work when they’re barfing. I understand it’s probably not the person’s fault – they may get fired if they don’t show up. But barfing employees should not be serving food. And that’s exactly what happened to 46 other employees at a Des Plaines, Ill., company last week.

The 46 workers at UOP, a manufacturing technology company, were infected by a norovirus -- a stomach bug -- that apparently was carried by a food service worker at the firm, said Amy Poore, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Department of Public Health.
 

Recalls of food contaminated with listeria are fairly common. Today, it's sandwiches in Western Canada and frozen dough in Israel.

Also today, a reminder of why information about listeria needs to be rapidly, widely and creatively distributed.

Three pregnant Hispanic women in Chicago and suburban Cook County tested positive for listeriosis after becoming ill in late November and December, according to a release from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

All three women reported eating different types of soft cheese, the release said. One woman delivered her baby, who also tested positive for listeriosis, but the other two suffered miscarriages.

"It is very important that pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems avoid eating foods that are more likely to contain the Listeria bacteria, such as soft cheeses -- including Brie, feta and Mexican style soft or semi-soft cheese -- unless the product clearly states it is made with pasteurized milk," Dr. Damon state director of public health, said in the release.

Pregnant women are about 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis. About a third of all reported cases in Illinois happen during pregnancy. Infection during pregnancy may result in spontaneous abortion during the second and third trimesters, or stillbirth.