mold-symptom.com

The stench that led Cumberland County Jail officials to suspect an inmate had contaminated chili with feces may actually have been caused by mold or bacteria growing inside a food tray.

Jail officials have found that gaps exist on some of the insulated trays used to distribute hot food to inmates. In a few trays, a faulty seam allowed water to collect in the gap, creating a dark, wet and warm environment that can be a breeding ground for mold and bacteria, officials say.

A private lab has tested some trays to determine what microorganisms are present and whether they could be responsible for the strong smell that has been associated with jailhouse food on two separate occasions, once on freshly cleaned trays.

Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion said he was not prepared to release the findings, but state health officials say mold can give off a bad smell, and some bacteria smell like feces when fermenting.

"We don't have conclusive evidence that there wasn't (feces,) but these new developments definitely raise some questions about the initial assumptions," said Dion.

The issue arose in August when a jail inmate reported finding feces in the chili that had been served for lunch. Investigators collected the chili, which seemed to have a strong odor of feces, and the tray. They were sent to the state crime lab for testing, as was a white bucket with a dark substance smeared in it that was recovered from the kitchen.

It appeared that an inmate trusty working in the kitchen had contaminated the food, and investigators set about finding the culprit. Inmates were outraged by the contamination and several reported being nauseous, with one being treated at the infirmary.

Inmates had their own suspicions, and two were charged with assaulting a fellow inmate because they believed he had previously put contaminants in the food and was a likely culprit.

The state lab responded recently that it did not have a test to obtain DNA samples from feces. The state's response left unanswered the more fundamental questions of whether feces were actually present in the chili, Dion said.

Dion said the smell led everyone involved to conclude that feces contaminated the food. He credited the jail's food services manager, Greg Vatulas, for developing the new theory.

Shortly after the initial incident, corrections officers discovered clean trays that also smelled like feces. They could not explain why trays would smell if the contamination was in the chili. They also puzzled over how contamination put into a large vat of chili would have affected only one inmate's meal.

Three weeks ago, another inmate complained of contamination, this time in beef stew. Corrections officers confirmed the smell and said it was strong enough to make them nauseous. The tray with the stew in it was placed in a plastic bag and refrigerated. When Vatulas checked it two hours later, it no longer smelled, he said.

Later, Vatulas was unloading new trays and found that they weighed less than the old ones, with a variance of as much as one-and-a-half pounds.

Investigating further, Vatulas found some seams were coming apart on the old trays, which are comprised of a top shell and a bottom shell sealed together around a foam core. He cut open a tray with a saw and found there were gaps inside that had filled with water and could be a breeding ground for bacteria or mold.

"Greg's preliminary inquiry was sufficient for us to know we had a problem with trays. Our concern is that there could have been some mold infestation in the trays," Dion said.

"There have been some conclusions reached by the lab, but we're going to assess those conclusions with counsel to see what our next steps are," Dion said, referring to possible litigation.

The jail had received high marks during previous health inspections, which check for the presence of mold and bacteria.

Steve Springer of the state Bureau of Health said some bacteria do smell like feces, and mold can give off smells as well. But the high temperatures of a commercial dishwasher - the jail's final rinse temperature is 190 degrees - are supposed to kill such microorganisms. The trays most likely would have had to sit for more than 36 hours after washing for microorganisms to grow, he said.

Jail officials speculated that the growth of microorganisms and the odor they produce may be stimulated by the heat from hot food on the tray. All 485 trays have been removed from the facility in favor of foam trays.

If the trays are the culprit, that makes the assault against William Lunt by two other inmates even more irresponsible, Dion said.

After the initial incident, the 14 trusties assigned to morning kitchen duty were locked down in their cells, but then complained that they were being punished without having been found guilty of wrongdoing, Dion said. Lunt was among those complaining, he said.

Dion allowed the trusties to mingle in the pod's common area. Lunt was among a handful of people being investigated in the contamination, in part because he was seen behaving suspiciously on security video near the food line. He was not placed in protective custody, Dion said, because jail officials were not aware of a specific threat against him.

If contaminated trays are shown to have caused the smell, that could eventually restore confidence in the food line, Dion said, and make sense of what has so far seemed a senseless act.

"It provides a very rational explanation for everything as opposed to some irrational act," Dion said.