A Belgrade Fall Festival outbreak in Bozeman, Montana has allegedly sickened at least 200 people, according to the Gallatin City-County Health Department and news reports. The Festival was held at the Belgrade Senior Center. According to the Gallatin City-County Health Department Facebook page, beef brisket served at the festival on September 16, 2023 is suspected as the source of these illnesses. All but one of those sickened ate the brisket.
Officials do not know what pathogen caused this illness. Event coordinators are cooperating with the health department in its investigation of this outbreak. According to NBC Montana, the beef brisket is a tradition at that festival. The Belgrade Chamber of Commerce smokes the beef overnight before the day of the festival and serves the meat free of charge.
If you have leftover beef brisket from that festival, throw it away. Do not try to reheat it. Reheating may kill pathogens, but those pathogens can produce toxins that are not destroyed by heat.
If you were at the Belgrade Fall Festival and ate food, please complete some forms for the health department to help them in their investigation. If you ate at the event and experienced foodborne illness, complete this form. If you ate food at that event and have not been sick, complete this form. You can call the health department to give them your information if you prefer. That number is 406-582-3100.
There is no information about the patient age ranges, or if anyone has been hospitalized. The notice from Gallatin county did not state exactly when the illnesses began, which would provide some clues about the pathogen that caused this outbreak.
If you are sick after eating at that festival, see your doctor. You may be part of the Belgrade Fall Festival outbreak. Even if you recover completely from a foodborne illness, there are long term complications from these pathogens that can be serious, including reactive arthritis and endocarditis.
If you have been sickened with a food poisoning infection, please contact our experienced attorneys for help with a possible lawsuit at 1-888-377-8900 or text us at 612-261-0856. Our firm represents clients in lawsuits against grocery stores, restaurants, and food processors.
