Yosemite National Park Battling Food Illness Issue

Yosemite National Park has some new visitors.

Federal health inspectors are on-site at the famed park after at least a dozen people have fallen ill with some sort of stomach virus.

The National Park Service and the U.S. Public Health Service told the San Francisco Chronicle they launched an investigation after employees and visitors reported the problems this month.

“The park is reminding all employees and visitors to wash their hands frequently and stay home if they experience any symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness,” Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said in a statement.

A cause has not been determined yet, but officials are working with Aramark to inspect Yosemite’s restaurants, hotels and snack shops. Aramark is one of the nation’s largest food concessionaires, counting among its clients numerous other parks, sports facilities and colleges, among others.

That includes Yosemite’s famous Ahwahnee Hotel, which has been heavily scrutinized since Aramark took over the foodservice. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Aramark has received numerous complaints from visitors about poor food quality, shuttle service and other services since it began managing Yosemite’s concessions four years ago.

The Ahwahnee Hotel lost was recently downgraded from an AAA-rated four-diamond property to a current three-diamond hotel.