HUNTSVILLE Ala. County health officials said lettuce served at Little Rosie’s Taqueria in Huntsville, Ala., was the likely source of E. coli bacteria responsible for sickening 18 people recently.
Fourteen of the 15 people who tested positive for E. Coli 0157.H7 poisoning ate at the restaurant on June 28 or June 29, said Dr. Debra Williams, assistant director of the Huntsville-Madison County Health Department. She cited shredded lettuce as the probable source.
However, Fred Grady, chief of the state health department’s epidemiology division, cautioned that the investigation is still going on and that it was premature to speculate on the source.
Little Rosie’s owner, Tod Craig, said the restaurant is testing all 80 employees for E. coli, and, in an effort to prevent cross-contamination, all lettuce is being chopped by a single employee who does not handle meat. The restaurant also set up a toll-free hotline for patrons who have concerns about the outbreak.
Grady called this the worst E. coli outbreak in the state in a couple of decades.