Sizzler says Milwaukee E. coli tied to outside source

CULVER CITY, California (Reuters) -- The Sizzler steakhouse franchise said Monday that the Milwaukee Health Department has cited "raw beef product" from an outside source as having tested positive for the E.Coli strain responsible for a recent Milwaukee outbreak that left one person dead.

MESSAGE BOARD Food Safety     ALSO New Hampshire firm recalls ground beef for possible E.coli Watermelon linked to E. coli contamination in Milwaukee     E. COLI: Choose a link to learn more about the E. coli bacteria: What is it? Symptoms Associated foods Prevention Treatment People at risk Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention For more, launch our interactive guide to food poisoning.

Last week, an E. coli outbreak linked to the death of a three-year-old girl and sickness in a dozen others was traced to a Sizzler steakhouse franchise now closed for investigation, Milwaukee health officials said Wednesday.

Sizzler International Inc. USA, based in Culver City, California, said it is taking steps to uncover the source and determine how and when the ground beef arrived at the Milwaukee franchise restaurant.

The company said its policy in all of its 65 corporate-owned restaurants is to cook ground beef entrees to the 160 degrees recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. There are also 200 independent Sizzler franchises across the country.

Calls poured in to authorities after the health department announced that those made ill all ate at a Sizzler steakhouse on the city's West Layton Avenue between July 15 and 19.

The outbreak was caused by E. coli 0157:H7, the same strain that tainted the water supply of the Canadian farm town of Walkerton in May, causing or contributing to at least six deaths.

The restaurant closed voluntarily pending an investigation, and Sizzler said it would offer its resources to afflicted families.

E. coli outbreaks are not uncommon, causing an estimated 73,000 illnesses a year in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The illness, often a cause of bloody diarrhea and sometimes of kidney failure, is most often associated with eating undercooked, contaminated beef.

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - E. coli information
FoodSafety.gov

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