An E. coli outbreak has sickened seven people and closed some of the Chicken & Rice Guys restaurants in Boston. The facility’s food trucks are also shut down, according to the Boston Globe. The company has four food trucks which serve the Greater Boston area.
The illnesses are tied to the Allston, Massachusetts location. That facility supplies food to the rest of the restaurant chain’s locations and the food trucks. Their operating license has been temporarily suspended by public health officials while the investigation is occurring.
An anonymous complaint triggered the investigation on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Public health inspectors are at the Allston site and are trying to discover the source of the outbreak. There is no word on what type of food, if any, investigators are looking at related to this outbreak.
Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker said, “E. coli infections can be caused by cross-contamination or undercooked meat.” Call 1-888-377-8900.
The symptoms of an E. coli infection include severe and painful stomach and abdominal cramps, diarrhea that is often bloody and/or watery, and a mild fever. These symptoms usually begin a few days after exposure to the pathogenic bacteria.
If the patient is very young or if the infection has been improperly treated with antibiotics, a complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) can develop after this infection. The symptoms of HUS include little or no urine output, easy bruising, lethargy, skin paleness, a skin rash, and bleeding from the nose or mouth. If anyone is experiencing these symptoms, they should seek medical attention immediately. HUS can cause kidney failure, strokes, seizures, and death.
E. coli infections in the past have been caused by undercooked and raw ground beef, contaminated produce, and raw or unpasteurized milk or juice. Infections can also be caused by cross-contamination between raw meats and foods that are eaten uncooked. It only takes 10 E. coli bacteria to make someone very ill.
The noted and respected law firm Pritzker Hageman, America’s food safety law firm, helps people harmed by adulterated food products in outbreaks throughout the country. Its lawyers have won millions of dollars for survivors of foodborne illness, including some of the largest settlements and verdicts in American history. The firm won a recent trial victory on behalf of a child who suffered from E. coli poisoning and hemolytic uremic syndrome.That verdict was the biggest recovery of its kind. The firm also publishes the E-news site, Food Poisoning Bulletin, a respected source for food safety news and information. Pritzker Hageman lawyers are often interviewed by major news outlets including the New York Times, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal.
