An East Topeka Mexican restaurant and meat market has been forced to temporary close after more than 20 people reportedly became sick after eating its food.

Carniceria Camecuaro, 1016 S.E. 6th, has been closed since Sunday after the Kansas Department of Agriculture advised it to shut down.

Manager Carmen Jaramillo confirmed the restaurant was closed Tuesday.

“We have done business for seven years. This is the first time we have this kind of problem when some persons became sick from the food,” she said.

Carniceria Camecuaro will remain closed while KDA conducts follow-up inspections and directs potentially contaminated food to be thrown out. The staff also has to undergo further training regarding food safety codes. Depending on how that goes, the establishment could be open within the week, said Charlie Hunt, epidemiologist with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

KDA and KDHE, which handles food-borne illness outbreaks, were advised of the issue Sunday when a local hospital reported at least four people suffering from food poisoning after eating at the restaurant, Hunt said.

Additional complaints have come in, he said, estimating that more than 20 people were affected by the restaurant’s food. Based on interviews, he said, the culprit looks to be the pork carnitas.

Although the investigation continues, the current hypothesis was that the food-borne illness was caused by a bacterium known as staphylococcus aureus, Hunt said.