Questions on Hamilton food safety rise after ‘concerning’ public health report

There are new questions about food safety and restaurant inspections in Hamilton Monday.

It follows news that gastrointestinal illness like salmonella may be a huge unreported problem in the city.

It’s been two weeks since the city closed down the Piper Arms restaurant on the Stoney Creek mountain, following an outbreak of salmonella — at last word 28 confirmed cases, 54 probable cases and nine people sent to hospital.

Monday, the restaurant was given a clean bill of health: a pass with no violations found.

The city said it was setting conditions to ensure safety when the restaurant opens.

“That would include further on-site inspection and ensuring that the proper food handling is taking place, deep cleaning of the facility, including those more complex instruments that can be challenging or difficult to clean, and a review of practices around food preparation,” said Dr. Brendan Lew, the Associate Medical Officer of Health with the City of Hamilton.

A report by the city’s public health department to the board of health also points to a larger overall issue.

The report says in 2025, routine food service inspections found 23 per cent had critical infractions, such as cross contamination or improper food temperatures, while 40 per cent had non-critical infractions such as minor maintenance concerns.

READ MORE: Hamilton outlines reopening conditions for Stoney Creek restaurant as salmonella cases rise

That totals up to 63 per cent with infractions.

The city councillor for Stoney Creek Brad Clark, whose residents are among those who’ve been getting sick, says the board of health has to review its policies.

“Those numbers are concerning,” said Clark. “You’re talking two-thirds of all inspections of restaurants are showing up with either non-critical infractions or critical infractions, and almost a quarter of them are critical infractions. So something is wrong in terms of how we’re handling restaurants and how restaurants are protecting the public from food-borne illness.”

Hamilton Public Health also reports the city averages 266 cases of salmonella a year.

But at the same time, it says in 2024 an estimated 97,656 gastrointestinal cases were not reported by people who didn’t seek medical care.

“This gap is significant in terms of real world impact,” said David MacDonald with Hamilton Public Health. “For some individuals and families, it can mean lost income, direct financial costs for child care or over-the-counter medication, and absenteeism in the workplace or at school.”

Following the Stoney Creek outbreak, Counc. Clark says he still has questions for health officials and wants to make sure the public is told clearly what’s going on.

“I think we should be looking at whether or not — and assessing whether or not — our food inspection process that we have right now with the City of Hamilton is adequate, and what can we do to lower the non-compliance issues with the restaurants,” said Clark.

READ MORE: Cross-contamination named likely cause of salmonella outbreak at Stoney Creek restaurant