E. Coli Outbreak At Local Organic Sandwich Shops: King County

SEATTLE, WA - The local Homegrown Organic chain of sandwich shops has been linked to a small outbreak of E. coli infections in King County, according to county health investigators.

Four people in King County have been sickened with E. coli since May 23 after eating at three different Homegrown stores: Redmond, Kirkland, and the Westlake Avenue shop in Seattle. All of the people sickened at the chicken pesto sandwich, according to health officials.

"On May 24, 2018, Environmental Health investigators visited the three Homegrown locations where the ill persons reported eating. During the field inspections, potential risk factors, including handwashing facilities violations at two of the three locations, and a cold holding temperature violation at one of the three locations, were identified and discussed with the restaurant managers.

"We are also investigating the various ingredients of the chicken pesto sandwich. All Homegrown locations in King County have stopped selling this particular sandwich while the investigation is ongoing," King County Health wrote in a bulletin about the infections.

Health investigators revisited each location on May 25 to verify that the restaurants had been cleaned. If you have eaten at Homegrown and have E. coli symptoms - bloody diarrhea in particular - visit your physician to get tested for the virus.

Homegrown released a statement about the outbreak, saying the stores are taking "aggressive" action to prevent further infections.

"The incidents occurred at our Redmond, Kirkland and South Lake Union stores in Washington State. We are taking aggressive action to ensure these are isolated incidents. Specifically, we removed the sauce from our stores as soon as we were notified of the incidents, and we are working closely with all vendors in our supply chain to ensure that all potential food safety risks are eliminated," the statement read. Read the full response here.

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