Updated Information: The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed that the Salmonella outbreak is linked to eating at Old Country Buffet in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
A Salmonella outbreak in Minnesota may be linked to a restaurant in Maple Grove, Food Poisoning Bulletin has learned. A cluster of Salmonella Enteritidis infections has been identified and may be linked to a restaurant about 30 miles northwest of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
A potential source of the outbreak has not yet been identified. Health officials are collecting environmental samples from the restaurant and stool samples from those who were sickened. Tests on the samples will determine the genetic fingerprint of the Salmonella, allowing health officials to determine if the isolates from the patients are a match to any of the samples from the restaurant.
Symptoms of a Salmonella infection, called salmonellosis, include fever abdominal cramping and diarrhea. These symptoms usually set in between six and 72 hours after exposure and can last up to a week. Anyone in the Maple Grove area who has these symptoms and believes they may be part of the outbreak should see a doctor.
Restaurants are the source of almost half of all reported U.S. foodborne illnesses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Public health officials say improving the food safety knowledge of restaurant workers would help to reduce the number of illnesses associated with restaurant food each year.
I think it might be the Old Country Buffet in Maple Grove.