55 people now sickened in salmonella outbreak linked to Avondale taqueria
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An Avondale taqueria linked to a salmonella outbreak now faces a third lawsuit.
Carnicerias Guanajuato, 3140 N. California Ave., shut down its taqueria earlier this month.
Since then, 55 people have reported getting salmonella, and 10 of them have been hospitalized.
One of them is so sick, he's still in the hospital on a ventilator and on dialysis.
Three of the victims have hired a food-borne illness attorney based in Seattle.
"Either you have a very invasive form of salmonella, which I have a tendency to believe that that's the situation, but I think it also is that you may well see that this is the tip of the iceberg of people getting sick," attorney Bill Marler said this week.
CDPH records show the taqueria was inspected on Sept. 8 due to suspected food poisoning, and inspectors found raw beef and raw shelled eggs were being stored above ready-to-eat sliced lettuce inside a prep cooler in the restaurant.
The restaurant was issued a citation for improper food storage and was instructed to properly store raw foods to avoid cross-contamination with prepared foods.
For more information on salmonella, visit www.cdc.gov/salmonella.
CDPH said anyone who suffered symptoms of salmonella after eating food from Carnicerias Guanajuato should contact them at outbreak@cityofchicago.org to file a suspected food poisoning complaint.