News

Denver E. Coli outbreak linked to Jimmy John's

November 4, 2013

At least eight people got sick after eating at Denver-area Jimmy John's that were contaminated with E. Coli bacteria, according to the Huffington Post, which said that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration are all investigating the outbreak. None of the restaurants are closed and aren't being publicly identified, however, because the restaurants are not believed to be at fault.

"Our leading hypothesis for what's happened is that there was a contaminated produce item that was distributed to the stores," Alicia Cronquit, an epidemiologist with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment told TV news station, KDVR. "We have not identified any food handling issues at the particular establishments that we think would contribute to illness."

The customers who got sick ate at Jimmy John's locations between Oct. 5 and 9 and began showing symptoms for E. Coli just days later, according the story, which also stated that other cases of illness are being investigated for possible links to outbreak, including the case of one person who was hospitalized.

The FDA is currently conducting tests to see where the contaminated produce came from, while the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reported that the restaurant chain is cooperating with the investigation.

Read more about food safety.