A public health alert has been issued by the USDA for The Kebab Shop beef kofta for possible Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 bacterial (STEC) contamination. There is an outbreak in California linked to this product that has sickened at least 9 people.
In that outbreak, illness onset dates range from March 27 through April 30, 2026. Six of the patients are children. Five patients have been hospitalized, and two have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), which is a type of kidney failure that can occur in children under the age of five. A recall was not requested because these items are no longer available for purchase. The recalling firm is Olympia Food Industries of Franklin Park, Illinois.
The kofta was produced as a raw ground beef product on January 6, 2026, and supplied to The Kebab Shop locations in the states of California, Texas, and Florida. FSIS collected product samples and they did test positive for E. coli O157:H7 contamination. More testing is underway to discover if the samples are related to the specific outbreak strain.
This public health alert was issued to make sure that consumers in those states are aware of this issue. The Kebab Shop stopped selling beef kofta at all of its restaurants on May 18, 2026. No picture of the recalled product was provided in the recall notice.
If you purchased this beef kofta product, do not eat it. You can throw it away in a secure trash can after double bagging the product so other people can’t see it, or you can take it back to the store where you bought it for a refund.
If you did eat this ground beef product or gave it to anyone in your family to eat, monitor your and their health for the symptoms of an E. coli infection and HUS. If anyone gets sick, see your doctor.
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.
