The kitchen at the center of an E. coli outbreak that sickened around 450 children at a daycare center in Calgary, Canada, has been allowed to reopen on a limited basis.
Alberta’s provincial health officials say Furing Minds’ kitchen was the site of an E. coli outbreak that sickened 448 people and affected 1,595 children who had to seek care while the center was closed. Only one of the 11 daycare centers that were closed during the pandemic is still able to provide services. The Meals on Wheels program will also be used at other childcare centers.
The outbreak was announced over Labor Day weekend and was not declared over until October 31st. Inspectors found several problems in the central kitchen serving the daycare center, including cockroaches, standing water and food thermometers kept in buckets with unusable utensils. I cleaned it. Staff also told inspectors that food was transported without temperature control during the 90-minute journey.
Through interviews with patients, public health officials determined that the source of the E. coli was meatloaf and vegetable loaf made in the central kitchen and served at the day care center. Nearly 40 children required hospitalization and more than 20 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS attacks the kidneys and often causes brain damage, requiring a transplant or death.
Initially, 11 daycare centers and central kitchens were closed, but have been allowed to reopen. The kitchen remained closed. Furing Brains Academy says it has eight preschools and daycare centers in Calgary and Strathmore. They are raising approximately 2,000 children. Six of the 11 daycare centers initially closed due to the outbreak were Furing Brains facilities, where some of their children were affected by the outbreak.
Fuhring Brains was incorporated in the province in 2017, according to Alberta government corporate records. The company’s directors are Faisal Alimohad and Anil Karim, who are both listed as voting shareholders. Both men have pleaded not guilty to charges of operating without a license. They could be fined up to $120,000.
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