Statement from Hereford House Leawood on food contamination arrest:
"Everyone connected with the Hereford House restaurant in Leawood is disturbed, even angered, by the food tampering that occurred at that location in April. Until the release of the affidavit on Wednesday concerning defendant’s actions and statements, we were unable to publicly address the situation as we were learning the details released by law enforcement authorities at the same time as the news media and the public.
Now, with the release of this information, we can make a few comments. First and foremost, we have always placed a high priority on the integrity of the food we serve our customers. We learned of the tampering on April 25th when the Leawood Police Department arrived at the restaurant asking to speak to the defendant, who had only been an employee for a month. They spoke with him, obtained the statements from him contained in the affidavit and took him into custody.
We immediately destroyed all the food in the kitchen and did a thorough cleaning and sanitizing of the kitchen and surrounding areas. We also immediately spoke with the health authorities from the State of Kansas responsible for restaurant inspections. We described the situation and the steps we had taken thus far. We asked if there were other steps we should take and they indicated we had taken all the appropriate steps. We continue to stay in touch with the state health authorities to keep them apprised of developments.
Based on the affidavit, we can now also narrow down the number of days the defendant was working during the time he was tampering with food. According to the affidavit, the defendant says the tampering occurred between roughly April 6th and April 23rd. In that span, the defendant worked 12 days.
We want to thank the Leawood Police Department for their quick action on the April 25th tip from the FBI that the potential for food tampering at the Leawood restaurant was occurring. We will continue to work with law enforcement authorities and report any further information we learn to our customers.
Finally, we want to thank our loyal customer base. Please know that we are just as upset and disturbed by this situation as you are. And we will continue to work hard to earn your trust and business."
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Peterson & Associates currently represents victims of alleged contamination of food by Jace Hanson with a lawsuit filed against Hereford House based on various claims including negligent hiring, training, and supervision of their employees. If you or a loved one consumed food prepared at Hereford House in Leawood between March 26 to April 25 and felt ill afterward, please contact us immediately so we can add your claim to the other affected victims.
Hereford House in Leawood, Kansas has recently been in the news due to serious allegations that an employee contaminated food using, among other things, bodily fluids. The alleged perpetrator, Jace Christian Hanson, has been charged criminally and is currently in the Johnson County Jail facing felony charges. The alleged contamination reportedly occurred between March 26 to April 25 of 2024. Victims of the food contamination describe various symptoms including:
