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S. enteritidis outbreak in 2010 linked to catering company
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From October 2010 to February 2011, 91 people were infected with Salmonella enteritidis in Alberta, Canada, according to a recent report.
“The source of this outbreak likely was a catering firm that supplied items for lunch trucks throughout Calgary,” researchers wrote. “Foods likely were contaminated through the use of [S. enteritidis]-contaminated eggs obtained from unapproved sources, subsequent cross-contamination through improper food-handling practices, and handling of food by [S. enteritidis]-infected employees.”
According to CDC, index patients were linked through a common history of consumption of food from lunch trucks. The outbreak was linked to one catering company that prepared food for some of the foods trucks, 85 patients reported eating from trucks in which the catering company prepared food in the 7 days before illness. Six of the patients were employees of the catering company; two were lunch truck drivers; 86 resided in Calgary; three in metro Edmonton; and two in southern Alberta. Two samples of food taken from the catering company were positive for S. enteritidis.
Signs and symptoms included diarrhea (96%); abdominal cramps (85%); fever (52%); bloody diarrhea (33%); and vomiting (25%). Six of those infected were hospitalized.
Interventions were put into place after the outbreak, and no additional cases were reported after implementation.
“This investigation highlights the potential for lunch trucks to be a source of foodborne illness and the need for robust regulatory compliance monitoring of lunch trucks and their food suppliers,” researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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