KELOWNA, BC; The Public Health Agency of Canada is now investigating seven more cases of E. coli in four provinces related to
contaminated cheese products from Gort’s Gouda in Salmon Arm.
The new cases bring the total to 21 reported illnesses from E. coli related to cheese from the Shuswap farm.
While one person has died, the others are said to be recovering from the poisoning.
The agency says one case each has been reported in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec with nine people becoming ill in Alberta and another nine in British Columbia.
The individuals became sick between mid-July and early September.
Cory Vanderlinde, an 82-year-old Vernon woman, died August 23rd from E. coli after eating cheese from Gort’s Gouda.
Last week, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled 14 raw-milk cheese products sold online, at the farm and elsewhere
between May 27 and Sept. 14.
One of the co-owners of Gort’s Gouda Cheese Farm in Salmon Arm has offered an apology, saying the company is trying to get to the exact source of the E. coli outbreak.
The agency says there is “no indication of widespread risk to Canadians. However, E. coli O157:H7 can pose a serious public health risk.”
Additional cases of E. coli from the cheese may yet be identified, according to a release from the agency Monday.
Symptoms last up to 10 days and include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever and vomiting with serious complications causing kidney failure in five to 10 per cent of those who become sick from this strain of E. coli.
Consumers are being told to return any recalled cheese to the point of purchase or throw it out.
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