Cockroaches, previous violations at kitchen used by Calgary daycares as E. coli outbreak toll climbs to 264

Alberta health inspectors have disclosed they found major health issues, including cockroach infestations and unsafe food handling, at a shared kitchen used by several daycares hit by a widespread E. coli outbreak.

This comes after an outbreak of the shiga toxin-producing E. coli, which can cause serious issues. The outbreak has sent children to hospital and some are on dialysis after developing hemolytic uremic syndrome, a disease which affects the kidneys.

At a press conference Tuesday, Dr. Mark Joffe, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said the kitchen inspection came after a noticeable increase in young children coming to the emergency departments over the September long weekend. 

“The emergency department physicians were very astute and quickly recognized that something unusual was happening and they reached out to the medical officer of health on call and to the team,” Joffe said. 

“From there it was quickly determined that the cases that they were seeing were linked to daycare centres and, in turn, those daycare centres were linked to one centralized kitchen.” 

WATCH | Alberta health officials answer questions on an E. coli outbreak in Calgary: 

Minister of Health Adriana LaGrange and Minister of Children and Family Services Searle Turton join Dr. Mark Joffe, chief medical officer of health, and Dr. Tania Principi, section chief of pediatric emergency medicine at Alberta Children’s Hospital, to discuss the measures being taken to address the current E. coli outbreak at daycares in Calgary.

Since then, there have been 264 lab-confirmed cases of E. coli connected to the outbreak. The cause of the outbreak has not yet been determined and remains under investigation. 

In an environmental inspection report of the kitchen at KidsU Centennial – Fueling Minds Inc., AHS detailed “significant evidence of a pest infestation” at the food establishment on Sept. 5, the date of the inspection, which happened the day after the outbreak was declared. 

“Two live adult cockroaches were observed on the sides of stainless steel equipment around the dishwashing area. The tin cat traps by the two separate two-compartment sinks had at least 20 cockroaches on the sticky pads each,” the report read. 

AHS said the inspection also found instances of food not being handled in a manner that makes it safe to eat, and a lack of appropriate equipment for keeping food cold during transportation. 

In total, inspectors found three critical violations and two non-critical violations related to an odour and utensil storage.

The report shows other violations cited on a number of dates ahead of the September inspection.

Joffe said the kitchen is closed and will only reopen once AHS has determined that it is safe. 

He added that Alberta Health Services conducts more than 40,000 inspections a year — and it is unusual to have a completely clean inspection. 

Prior to the closure, he said, the facility had last been inspected in April. Two infractions were found at that time, and they were corrected. By the end of April, there were no violations in the kitchen, he said.  

In a statement to CBC News late Tuesday afternoon, Kent Hehr, vice president of Fueling Brains, said their daycares source food from Fueling Minds, a catering company which also provides food to other daycare centres. 

Hehr said that Fueling Minds’ kitchen is supervised by a Red Seal chef. While Fueling Brains and Fueling Minds share “similar ownership,” Hehr said they are independent entities. 

“While the kitchen remains closed, all food will be sourced by external providers,” the statement reads. 

Hehr added that Fueling Brains took immediate action to shut down affected daycares and communicate with parents when they were notified of the outbreak by AHS on Sept. 4.

“Communicating with our families has been our priority and we have been sending out daily parent and staff messages to help keep our community informed and safe. Throughout this process, we have remained transparent, cooperative, and have taken immediate action wherever possible.”

There are currently 25 patients receiving care in hospital, the province said in an emailed media release — 22 of whom are confirmed as having hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is a severe illness caused by E. coli infection. 

Six patients are receiving peritoneal dialysis at Alberta Children’s Hospital. The children with severe illness are all in stable condition and are receiving the care they need in hospital. Other children and families are receiving care and support at three outpatient clinics set up in Calgary hospitals.

WATCH |  25 people are still in hospital after E. coli breakout: 

As the total number of E. coli infections associated with a chain of Calgary daycares climbs to 264, Alberta health officials say they are still looking for their specific source. However, health inspectors say they have found major issues with the facility, including cockroach infestations and unsafe food handling.

When asked why he and Alberta’s minister of health didn’t comment on the outbreak sooner, Joffe said he had been following the daily communications from AHS closely. 

“We didn’t feel that there was urgency to do that up until this point,” he said. 

In an email sent after the press conference, Joffe issued a clarifying statement regarding that comment. 

“This issue has been addressed with urgency from the very start. As the chief medical officer of health, my priority has been on the health and well-being of the children impacted, and the progress of the investigation.” 

“The priority was first and foremost getting people looked after and then to provide the public with a fulsome update on the situation.”

Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange said she has received daily updates on the situation, but didn’t comment publicly as she’s been monitoring AHS and “wanting to really make sure that AHS was focused on what they needed to do.” 

Katie McLean’s daughter, who is almost two years old, attended Fueling Brains McKnight, one of the affected locations, and was recently released from Alberta Children’s Hospital after being sick with E. coli. McLean said the report released by AHS was “disgusting” and “hard to imagine.” 

She said she understands that inspections happen and violations are corrected, but said the lack of appropriate equipment for keeping food cold during transportation was the most egregious part.

“If your entire business is transporting food to children, their entire business is catering, why would you not have the safety pieces in place to make sure that that food is safely delivered?” 

“It just makes me absolutely sick. I can hardly talk about it without crying. It’s so hard to imagine my little girl eating at the daycare — so innocent and not knowing that she was at risk.” 

Eleven child-care facilities were closed as part of the outbreak investigation. 

AHS has since rescinded the closure orders for four facilities — Little Oak Early Education, Almond Branch, Braineer Academy and Fueling Brains Bridgeland — as no one from those sites has tested positive, and public health inspectors have ensured that the sites have taken appropriate measures such as cleaning and disinfection.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it is providing support as the source is investigated. 

On Tuesday, the Alberta NDP called for a full inquiry into the outbreak. 

“When we do discover the source of that outbreak, we need to move immediately to a full and public inquiry into how this food handling site was left uninspected for months,” Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley said in a statement.