Foodborne Illness and Injury Reporting

If you believe that you became ill as a result of eating a meal prepared at a food establishment located in Washoe County, please call our office at (775) 328-2434 to report your illness. Please do not report your illness to our webmaster. Your illness report is considered to be a confidential medical record and the webmaster is not designated to review such records. Additionally, to properly evaluate your report and to ensure that we take appropriate action, we must conduct an interview with you regarding your report.

When you call you will be asked for some preliminary information, such as:

  • Your name,
  • Your age,
  • Your sex,
  • Your address,
  • Your phone number,
  • Your symptoms (fever, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.),
  • The facility where you believe you were served food that made you ill,
  • The number of people who were with you and their names and phone numbers,
  • The foods you ate and drank,
  • Whether or not you saw a physician,
  • And a few others.

Your report will be routed to an environmental health specialist for investigation. The specialist will attempt to contact you within 24 hours in order to do a more in-depth interview. During that interview you will be asked to provide a history of the foods you may have eaten up to 3 days prior to your illness onset. You will also be asked to provide information regarding medications, allergies, occupation and other possible environmental exposures which might have caused your illness.

After the interview, the specialist will inform you as to the action that will be taken as a result of your report.

Food Product Complaints

If you believe that you have purchased a commercially packaged food product that is adulterated (contaminated with a foreign or not listed substance) or that made you ill, please call us at (775) 328-2434. Please do not lodge the complaint with the webmaster.

When you call you will be asked a few preliminary questions, such as:

  • Your name,
  • Your address,
  • Your phone number,
  • The type of food product,
  • The nature of your complaint,
  • And a few other related questions.

The complaint will be routed to an environmental health specialist who will call you back for more in-depth information and to advise you of the actions we may take or may ask you to take.

Food Facility Cleanliness Complaints

If you notice unsanitary practices or conditions in a food facility, you are encouraged to tell the manager of the facility. If you also wish to let us know, please call us at (775) 328-2434.

When you call you will be asked a few preliminary questions such as:

  • Your name,
  • Your address,
  • Your phone number,
  • The name of the facility,
  • The location of the facility,
  • And the unsanitary practice or condition you observed.

The complaint will be routed to an environmental health specialist for investigation. You may ask to have the specialist call you back to advise you of the actions taken as a result of the investigation.

Last modified on 08/15/2023