Health department identifies restaurants connected to E. coli outbreak

One person died after consuming E. coli-tainted wagyu beef at Harbor Grille in Lakeside, the Flathead City-County Health Department confirmed Friday, while four other local restaurants are associated with the recent outbreak that sickened 13 people.

Lab results confirmed that E. coli was found in ground beef from a restaurant supplier, the Health Department said in a press release. The last known consumption date was July 14. 

The source of the outbreak was wagyu beef from one lot number, and all cases reported eating undercooked or made-to-order burgers made with wagyu beef at one of multiple restaurants in Flathead County. 

The following restaurants are associated with the 14 cases in the outbreak: Gunsight Saloon in Columbia Falls, Hops Downtown Grill in Kalispell, Tamarack Brewing Company in Lakeside, The Lodge at Whitefish Lake and Harbor Grille in Lakeside.  

Several other facilities -- Flathead Fish, the Crawdad Café and Flathead Lake Lodge -- received contaminated wagyu beef from the same lot number, but no reported illnesses have been associated with these establishments.  

Once the source of exposure was preliminarily identified, public health staff worked directly with affected businesses to ensure all remaining wagyu beef from the contaminated lot was removed from use, health officials said.  

“All restaurants involved in this outbreak investigation have been incredibly cooperative,” Jennifer Rankosky, health officer of the Flathead City-County Health Department said. “They were willing to assist us in our investigative efforts and they all voluntarily removed the wagyu beef once we were able to identify it as the source of concern.” 

Patients associated with the outbreak were sickened with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157 which can be caused by a person eating raw or undercooked animal products contaminated with this strain of bacteria, according to county health officials.  

Symptoms include severe stomach cramps, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, fever and chills. Young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk for severe illness. In severe cases, the infection can also trigger a serious condition called hemolytic uremic syndrome. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hemolytic uremic syndrome can lead to kidney failure, permanent health conditions and death. Symptoms of E. coli infection occur between one and 10 days after exposure, with an average of three to four days after exposure. Individuals that may be experiencing these symptoms are encouraged to contact their health care provider. 

Paul Thornton, the area director of operations for Averill Hospitality, which operates The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, said the outbreak has led the restaurant to no longer take customer requests for cooking ground beef. All burgers, he said, will have an internal temperature of 160 degrees. 

Thornton noted that the restaurant has a disclaimer on its menu that customer requests for meat cooked under the recommended temperature could cause foodborne illness.

Averill Hospitality’s Director of Food and Beverage Bryan LaFontaine said that after the restaurant was made aware it was connected to the outbreak, staff looked at what they could have done differently.

"Our first inclination is just feeling terrible for those involved, then going back and seeing if there's anything that we could have done differently, but the Health Department has told us that everything we did was exactly what we should be doing.” LaFontaine said. 

He said the restaurant has consistently received A ratings from the Health Department. He added that Flathead City-County Health Department handled the situation quickly and professionally.  

Tamarack Brewing Company Executive Chef Chris McLaughlin said his staff worked with the Health Department to remove the product from its kitchen. 

"Now we are waiting for the investigation to go through to determine if it was the cattle or if it was the processing company, but it's just a very unfortunate situation and our heart goes out to the families involved,” McLaughlin said.  

The Health Department encourages individuals to prevent foodborne illness by taking the following precautions: Cook ground beef and pork to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees or “well done.” Do not eat rare or undercooked ground beef. Always carefully wash hands with soap and warm water after using the bathroom and changing diapers, and before handling or eating any food.