Lettuce at KFC/Taco Bell locations is the likely source of the E. coli 0157 outbreak in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario that caused one Stellarton resident to be hospitalized.
"The evidence from our collaborative investigation leads us to believe that the common food source was distributed to this fast-food restaurant chain," said Dr. Frank Atherton, Nova Scotia's deputy chief medical officer of health. "Lettuce has a limited shelf life, and we have not seen a new case in more than a week. This tells us it is highly unlikely the food item remains in the food chain. As an added precaution, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is issuing a recall of the lettuce products."
Federal authorities continue to investigate the cause of the contamination. In Nova Scotia, the Department of Agriculture has inspected impacted locations and no food safety issues related to the outbreak have been identified in these restaurants.
Nova Scotia has had 10 confirmed cases, five of which have been linked to the outbreak, to date. All patients have been seen by health-care professionals and are either recovering or recovered.
