How to report foodborne illness
Foodborne illness complaints
Do you believe something you ate at an Austin or Travis County restaurant made you sick?
Fill out our foodborne illness complaint form or call 512-972-5555.
Other complaints
Have a complaint about an Austin or Travis County restaurant that does NOT involve illness (such as dirty conditions)?
Call Austin 3-1-1 at 3-1-1 or 512-974-2000.
About the APH Foodborne Illness Complaint Form
Austin Public Health (APH) offers an online survey that lets you report a foodborne illness when the details are fresh in your mind. If you suspect that something you ate made you sick (and possibly others), please answer all the questions to provide as much information as possible for your local health department. Epidemiologists at APH will review your report, conduct an investigation if necessary, and gather real-time information about the situation in your community.
- What information do I need to provide?
Detailed information is essential to helping us do a thorough investigation, such as:
- Name and address of the restaurant,
- Dates and times meals were eaten
- Description of foods eaten
- Names and contact information of others in your dining party, and
- Information about your symptoms
- Laboratory testing
When a foodborne illness outbreak is first suspected, the germ that caused people to become sick is likely unknown. Identifying that germ by laboratory testing is a critical piece of the puzzle that will help focus the investigation. If you are ill with symptoms that you believe may be associated with an outbreak, it is recommended you see your doctor so that samples (like a stool specimen) can be collected for laboratory testing. Your health department may also request to collect specimens from you. For more information about germs that cause illness, see the CDC's information about food safety.
- A note about “last meal bias”
People often associate their illness with the last food or meal that they ate. While there are some germs (particularly toxins) that cause illness to develop quickly after consuming contaminated food items (as short as 30 minutes), there are many foodborne illnesses that can take up to 72 hours (3 days) or longer to develop. When thinking about what might have caused you to become ill, it is helpful to review the food items that you have eaten over the last several days.
- What happens when I file a Foodborne Illness Complaint Form?
Once you hit submit, the report will be sent to the APH Foodborne Illness team. An epidemiologist will follow up with you if we have any further questions. If warranted, an environmental health inspector will visit the food establishment you suspect made you sick to check for safe food handling practices. Additionally, APH team members will look for trends in other foodborne illness reports to see if there are commonalities that might suggest an outbreak has occurred. The goal is to get the information quickly from you, the consumer, and act quickly to prevent others from becoming sick.