July 24, 2020
The Moby Dick House of Kabob, a Persian restaurant chain with two dozen locations in the Washington, DC, area, has had 30 good years, but this past year is not one of them. According to Food Safety News, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC, health departments continue their investigations into salmonella illnesses likely linked to hummus served at Moby Dick locations throughout the national capital region.
Humus production for Moby Dick was suspended in early September and since then the three local health departments have linked 33 sick people to the salmonella outbreak. The total includes 23 patients in Maryland, nine in Virginia and one in the District of Columbia. The Maryland Health Department gave the green light to the restaurant’s Hyattsville plant to resume hummus production on October 4.
The founder of the restaurant chain, Mike Daryoush, died early last year. After he came to the United States, Daryoush first opened a traditional American breakfast and lunch restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1989, but only found real success after installing a clay oven to produce fresh Persian breads. From there, the Moby Dick House of Kabob and with a full Persian menu became a fixture in the capital region.
Most people infected with salmonella infections develop symptoms including diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps within six hours to four days after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days and most people recover without treatment. Some people, including the elderly, infants and those with impaired immune systems, are more likely to experience severe illness and may require hospitalization.