It was the guacamole: E. coli O157:H7 outbreak traced to Texas restaurant

I do not like guacamole.

It can be traced back to a hangover this girl had 25 years ago, and she threw up green chunky stuff.

Sorenne had a cupcake with bright green icing yesterday and had a bright green poop this morning.

In April 2011, at least 11 people became sick after eating at a local restaurant and doctors confirmed five were positive for E. coli O157:H7.

KXXV reports officials with the Bell County Public Health District initially declined to identify the specific restaurant the complaints originated from, citing Texas laws meant to protect businesses and individuals under investigation.

News Channel 25 filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act. Acting upon the request, Bell County health officials provided five-page report Friday detailing the investigation.

According to that report, the contamination was traced to the Jason’s Deli located at 3213 East Central Texas Expressway in Killeen.

Through a process of elimination, investigators were able to trace the food, then the ingredient the bacteria likely came from. A total of 37 different food items were tested. The most likely source was identified as a batch of guacamole made on April 13th, used as spread for the "California Club" sandwich.

Investigators further concluded that the guacamole was likely contaminated on-site, possibly by an object or employee during the food preparation stage. The bacteria was not spread through food distributed by Jason’s Deli Distributors or Deli Management, Inc.

Now that the case is closed, Jason’s Deli corporate spokesperson Daniel Helfman tells News Channel 25, "Over six weeks ago, the county looked into a situation. They came back and ruled out Jason’s Deli as a source of the issue. Our food and restaurant were never in question, therefore everyone should feel very safe about eating at Jason’s Deli."

If some corporate spokesthingy is that clueless about food safety basics, I wouldn’t eat there.
 

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time