Charges laid against company at centre of Alberta E. coli outbreak that sickened 300+
Charges have been laid against the company at the centre of Alberta’s biggest E. coli outbreak in history.
The E. coli outbreak was declared on September 4 for six locations of the Fueling Brains daycare and five additional sites connected by the central kitchen after a dozen people landed in hospital.
The City of Calgary issued charges against the Fueling Minds catering company for operating without a business licence Wednesday morning after it was discovered that the company had been providing third-party food services to five Calgary childcare centres that were not owned by the company.
The corporation and its two directors have each been charged under the Business Licensing Bylaw for operating without a business licence for a total of 12 charges. If convicted, they could face a total fine amount of up to $120,000.
The province also provided an update on the outbreak, revealing that there are now 351 lab-confirmed cases and 37 secondary cases of E. coli, with four children remaining in hospital.
Dr. Mark Joffe, chief medical officer of health, added that new infections have “plateaued” and most of the children connected to the outbreak have been cleared to return to daycare.
A report released early in the investigation detailed cockroaches found in the Calgary kitchen that are at the centre of the outbreak.
Based on the investigation so far, it is believed that meatloaf and vegan loaf meals were served for lunch on August 29, most likely containing the E. coli bacteria that led to the infections.
It is still not known what exactly in the food was contaminated, or how it became contaminated.
Follow Channels and Categories