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Taste of Chicago

By Pritzker | Ruohonen

In 2007, the Taste of Chicago dished up a hummus dish at the Pars Cove booth that was contaminated with Salmonella, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. Over 180 people were sickened in the resulting Salmonella outbreak. 

We are representing a number of the people sickened in the Taste of Chicago Salmonella outbreak of 2007. If you had a confirmed case of Salmonella after eating at the Taste of Chicago, please contact attorney Richard Ruohonen, managing attorney of our Taste of Chicago Salmonella cases.  To contact Rich about a Taste of Chicago Salmonella case, please call 1-888-377-8900 (toll-free) or email attorney Rich Ruohonen.  

During the outbreak, the number of reported cases of Salmonella grew daily. Below is a 2007 press release issued by the Chicago Department of Public Health regarding the Taste of Chicago Salmonella outbreak:  

08-Aug-2007 City Health Dept. Continues Investigation of Food Borne Illnesses: Reports of lllness Slowing Down Considerably

As anticipated, reports of illnesses related to the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth at Taste of Chicago are slowing down considerably.

As of noon today, a total of 790 people have reported that they became ill after they ate food purchased from the Pars Cove booth—up from the 770 reported on July 27.

One hundred eighty-two of the 790 are laboratory-confirmed cases of salmonellosis, with more results pending—up from the 158 reported on July 27. Of these 182 cases, 169 have been identified as Salmonella Heidelberg, one of the more common Salmonella serotypes in the United States.

A total of 38 people are known to have been hospitalized—up slightly from the 37 CDPH reported on July 27.

Most of the individuals live in the Chicago area; some are from downstate and some are from other states.

The Pars Cove situation represents the first confirmed outbreak of illness associated with the event in at least 20 years. In the larger context of having safely served tens of millions of people in recent years, the Taste remains quite possibly the safest food service operation in the city.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on June 25, 2008 (boomark / email).