A Texas woman has filed a $1mllion lawsuit against a local buffet restaurant, claiming that she got ‘Fried Rice Syndrome’ after eating at the spot.
Germaine Mobley, 62, had gone to eat at the Asian King Buffett in Waxahachie, Texas, in 2016.
Mobley had been a repeat customer at the eatery and was there with a friend for her meal at the time.
Germaine Mobley, 62, ate fried rice at the Asian King Buffett in Waxahachie, Texas, in 2016. When she returned home, she grew sick and was in the ICU for eight days
The woman ‘purchased and consumed fried rice’ according to court documents obtained by KHOU-11.
‘Everything tasted fine,’ she said. ‘After we ate, I started not feeling well on the drive home.’
The Corsicana, Texas, native said that her health quickly deteriorated when she got home.
She said: ‘I just started vomiting. The next morning, I was having problems breathing, so my husband called an ambulance.’
Court documents state that ‘as a result of consuming the fried rice in question, Mobley ingested Bacillus cereus.’
Bacillus cereus is a bacteria that produces toxins and is common in food that has sat out at room temperature for extended periods of time.
Court documents state that ‘as a result of consuming the fried rice in question, Mobley ingested Bacillus cereus’ (stock)
It is commonly found in fried rice, with the Food and Drug Administration citing that as the cause of ‘Fried Rice Syndrome.’
Symptoms of the syndrome include cramps, vomiting and diarrhea.
They tend to last for 24 hours according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Mobley, however, claims that she was in the ICU for 8 days and needed a ventilator for two of those days. She had choked on her own vomit while wearing an oxygen mask.
‘Fried Rice Syndrome sounds like a joke, but it’s very serious,’ Mobley’s attorney Kathryn Knotts asserted.
Bacillus cereus is a bacteria that produces toxins and is common in food that has sat out at room temperature for extended periods of time. It is commonly found in fried rice, with the Food and Drug Administration citing that as the cause of ‘Fried Rice Syndrome’ (stock)
‘They (Asian King) didn’t maintain the food at the proper temperature or kept it out for a long period of time.’
The woman shared that she was unable to walk for a week and once she left the hospital, she was forced to undergo three months of rehab.
Mobley shared that she did have health complications prior to eating the rice.
She added that that probably added to her condition.
‘You just never dream that you would go out to eat and get that ill,’ Mobley added. ‘Now, I would not eat rice off a buffet…anywhere’ (stock)
‘You just never dream that you would go out to eat and get that ill,’ Mobley added.
‘Now, I would not eat rice off a buffet…anywhere.’
The restaurant has denied any wrongdoing and has demanded proof.
For the woman, it’s imperative that people learn about the bacteria.
‘You’re taking the chance at getting very ill when you’re eating at a rice buffet,’ Mobley said. ‘You could be the next person.’