ST. LOUIS COUNTY 鈥 The head of a longtime 最新杏吧原创-area catering company is incensed over a claim that his business is responsible for an E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least 69 people and sent about a dozen to the hospital.
鈥淭his is reckless and defamatory,鈥 John Armengol Jr., the second-generation owner of 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 Banquet and Catering, said on Saturday. 鈥淚鈥檓 in full 鈥榙efend鈥 mode.鈥
On Thursday, Rockwood School District released a statement that at least 19 students and family members at Rockwood Summit High School had tested positive for E. coli or were displaying symptoms that were 鈥渃ompatible鈥 with a strain of the bacteria.
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By the following day, 最新杏吧原创 County Department of Public Health officials put the number of people affected at 69. In a press release, the department said that those who had tested positive had attended school-related events that were hosted at or catered by , which has 31 locations across the region.
鈥淐urrent details are suggestive of a salad being the source of illness,鈥 Sara Dayley, a department spokesperson, said in the statement.
On Nov. 7, the Summit marching band gathered for dinner at 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 South on Telegraph Road in 最新杏吧原创 County. The next day, 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 catered an event honoring veterans at the high school, which is on Hawkins Road near Fenton.
Armengol said that more than 500 people had salad from the same shipment 鈥 including students from Affton High School who attended a banquet at 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 South on the same night as the Rockwood Summit event. No one else got sick, he said, and neither did anyone who ate one of the 3,200 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 meals served that week at its other locations.
Armengol declined to name the supplier of the lettuce, saying he wanted to talk to his lawyer first. But it was not possible that the salad was contaminated, he said.
鈥淭his is quality,鈥 he said of the supplier. 鈥淭hey handle all the big boys in town.鈥
Armengol said he planned to eat salad from that shipment for lunch on Saturday.
鈥楢 common denominator鈥
Many types of E. coli are harmless. But 0157, the strain in the Rockwood Summit outbreak, produces a toxin that can cause severe diarrhea and lead to kidney failure, especially in young children or older adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The bacteria is commonly spread through undercooked meat, fresh produce or person-to-person contact. In October, slivered onions served on McDonald鈥檚 Quarter Pounder hamburgers were blamed for across 14 states. One person died.
鈥淭he last three or four months have been out of control,鈥 said , a Seattle-based attorney who has specialized in cases involving food-borne illnesses for more than 30 years.
Marler represented families who were affected by an E. coli outbreak traced to Jack in the Box hamburgers in 1993, which sickened more than 700 people and left four children dead. His law firm is currently suing McDonald鈥檚.
Two families involved in the Rockwood Summit outbreak have contacted his office, he said, and he anticipates he will likely file a lawsuit on their behalf.
鈥淭he reality is you鈥檝e got two separate events and a common denominator of 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 catering,鈥 said Marler.
Despite the high-profile fast-food cases involving beef, most E. coli outbreaks are linked to leafy greens, Marler said. It鈥檚 common for the infection to be unevenly spread because the bacteria can be present on some leaves and not others.
鈥淚f I had a dollar for every time someone said, 鈥業 served this to a thousand people and only a hundred got sick,鈥 I鈥檇 be able to retire,鈥 he said.
鈥楢 big joke鈥
Armengol is standing behind the business his father started in 1980. 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 has served food at more than 52,000 events over the past four decades with no problems, he said, and has never received a safety inspection with a score lower than 99.
Armengol feels like his reputation 鈥 and the company鈥檚 future 鈥 is at stake.
鈥淔ood poisoning is the death of a food and beverage business,鈥 he said.
Armengol said he was contacted on Monday by a school district employee who told him that some students who had eaten 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 meals had become ill. An inspector for the department of health came to 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 in South County on Wednesday and Thursday to investigate. They found nothing questionable, Armengol said.
鈥淓verything is money here,鈥 he said.
But he claims no food was taken for testing. He questions why the department would mention 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 by name without hard evidence that the caterer was responsible for the outbreak.
鈥淭his whole thing is a big joke,鈥 he said.
In Friday鈥檚 press release, the county department of public health said that a single source of the contamination had not yet been identified.
鈥淎dditional testing and data analysis are ongoing,鈥 the release said.
Meantime, 础苍诲谤别鈥檚 has been fielding calls from the media and from clients with upcoming events who are concerned, Armengol said.
Doug Moore, a spokesperson for 最新杏吧原创 County, did not respond to questions about Armengol鈥檚 assertion that the department had not tested any food.
鈥淭he investigation is widening as more people come forward,鈥 he said in a text message. 鈥淲e appreciate the cooperation of 础苍诲谤别鈥檚.鈥
Information on the condition of the 12 people who were hospitalized was not available Saturday.
Armengol would not discuss whether he was going to pursue legal action but had fighting words for the department of public health.
鈥淲hen they put my name out there, they have no idea who they are messing with,鈥 he said. 鈥淗eads are going to roll.鈥
