Photo: Steffi Loos/Getty Images
Three people have died after a listeria outbreak at a family-owned burger joint in Tacoma, Washington, according to the State Department of Health.
In a report published on August 18, the health authorities confirmed that Listeria bacteria were found in all flavors of shakes sold at a Frugals burger restaurant in Tacomaabout an hour from Seattle.
The department reported that the bacteria caused six hospitalizations, among people between the ages of 40 and 79, and three deaths.
“Investigators found Listeria in the ice cream machines, which were not cleaned properly. No other Frugals restaurants are believed to be affected,” the department said.
Although Frugals Tacoma stopped using its ice cream machines on August 8, the department noted that listeria can continue to affect people for up to 70 days.
The Washington State Department of Health also encouraged people who are pregnant, 65 and older, and with weakened immune systems to contact their health care provider if they drank a shake at Frugals Tacoma between May 29 and August 7 and they have symptoms.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, listeria infection or listeriosis occurs after eating contaminated food with a bacterium called Listeria monocytogenes.
Some of symptoms are fever, muscle aches, fatigue, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, seizures, diarrhea and vomitingaccording to the CDC.
The same strain of listeria was detected in all six people who were hospitalized between February 27 and July 22, the Washington State Department of Health said.
“All six people had conditions that made their immune systems less capable of fighting disease,” the department reported.
“Last week, the Pierce County Health Department (PCHD) notified Frugals of an investigation into a possible listeria outbreak at our Tacoma Frugals locations. Since then, we have been working with PCHD to identify and contain the source of listeria after a test on a shake machine at our Tacoma store came back positive for the bacteria,” Frugals Tacoma said in a statement posted on its Instagram page. August 19.
Frugals Tacoma said the chain was “deeply saddened” to learn that six people were treated at a hospital and three died after contracting the bacteria.
“We are heartbroken and deeply regret any harm our actions may have caused,” the statement read.
The burger chain said it is following PCHD’s recommendations and sent its shake equipment to an independent facility to be cleaned and sanitized before retesting for the bacteria.
Frugals also said it sent test samples of shake machines at its other locations and shut down all shake machines while the chain awaits results.
“As a family business for over 30 years, the trust of our customers is paramount. We will continue to fully cooperate with this investigation and are committed to making any changes deemed necessary to maintain our high level of operations and prevent this from happening again.”
Keep reading:
- FDA Recalls Lot of Frozen Fruit in 30 States Due to Possible Listeria Contamination
- 10 dangerous recalled foods you need to know about
- Outbreak of listeria in the US caused by meats and cheeses: one dead