Sharing a kitchen with other businesses can have serious drawbacks, as the owners of Famous Yeti’s Pizza, a single-unit operation in Stoughton, Wisconsin, learned this week.
After eating the restaurant’s pizza earlier this week, some customers reported experiencing “unexplained physical reactions,” prompting an investigation by local police and health authorities. The culprit turned out to be THC oil—specifically Delta-9—which a Famous Yeti’s employee used by mistake for dough-making, the company explained in a post on its website and Facebook page.
The post says the incident involved pizzas sold between 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 22, and 12 noon, Thursday, October 23. Those dates appear to be erroneous since Thursday was October 24, not October 23. According to WKOW, citing a report from Public Health Madison & Dane County (PHMDC), the contaminated pizza was served from October 21 through October 24.
How did the contamination happen? As AP News reports, a cook at Famous Yeti’s had run out of oil for the pizza dough, went into a shared commercial kitchen and mistakenly grabbed a jug of oil that contained Delta-9 THC off the shelf.
“It’s not normal to do, but [it’s like when] you borrow a cup of sugar from a neighbor,” Famous Yeti’s owner Ryan Cale told the Wisconsin State Journal. “We went over to borrow some oil and grabbed the wrong one.”
With the website and Facebook post, Famous Yeti’s acted promptly and with transparency to inform customers of the mistake.
“After receiving reports from staff, Yeti’s owner and employees of unexplained physical reactions, we underwent an investigation with the Stoughton Police and the local health officials,” the post states. “Today it was confirmed that pizza had been sold with dough mistakenly prepared with oil contaminated with Delta-9. The oil accidentally used in the product originated from a shared storage space in the on-site cooperative commercial kitchen.”
Famous Yeti’s, owned by Cale Ryan, went on to state that “all affected products have been destroyed,” adding, “Famous Yeti’s is working closely with local authorities to improve our storage and security protocols to prevent this from happening again and to guarantee the safety of our customers. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or harm caused.”
According to AP News, paramedics transported five people with similar symptoms to hospitals, and all of them had eaten at Famous Yeti’s. Health officials also said they’d received dozens of reports from people who got sick from the pizza, the AP News story adds.
“They get really stoned,” Ryan told the Wisconsin State Journal. “They get intoxicated from the THC, so I think it’s more alarming than anything to feel that way. It’s basically eating an edible, but without knowing.”
“We want to be sure anyone who has this pizza on hand throws it away so they don’t get sick,” Bonnie Armstrong, PHMDC’s director of environmental health, said in a statement to the news media. “If you ate the pizza and are experiencing THC-related symptoms, please contact your health care provider or call 911 if your symptoms worsen.”
Authorities and public health officials were still investigating the kitchen as of Friday, October 25, and said Famous Yeti’s was cooperating with the investigation.
In comments on Famous Yeti’s Facebook page, many followers stood by the restaurant. “We will continue to order and support Yeti’s,” one follower wrote. “Cale is an incredibly good, hard-working young entrepreneur. The way he has handled this issue with honesty and transparency, is an example for all business folks. Cale, we are sorry this has happened to you. But you’ve handled it with grace and concern. Thank you for putting your customers first.”
Another wrote, “We will always support you. Your pizza has always been top-notch. Thank you for your transparency and for always showing us support as well when we need it. God bless you guys. You guys rock!”
A few followers joked about the incident, with one asking, “Will this become a weekly special?” Another follower cracked, “Is it too late to get me one of those pizzas?”
