A public health alert has been issued for beef kofta products sold at The Kebab Shop restaurants in California, Florida, and Texas over potential E. coli contamination.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the alert after an ongoing outbreak investigation in California linked the products to Shiga toxin-producing E. coli. Nine people have fallen ill.
The suspect beef was produced by Olympia Food Industries in Franklin Park, Illinois, in January. All Kebab Shop locations stopped selling the kofta on May 18. A recall was not issued because the product is no longer on the market.
Authorities urge anyone who still has leftover beef kofta from The Kebab Shop to discard it immediately. Those who develop symptoms-such as watery or bloody diarrhea, fever, nausea, or vomiting-should contact their healthcare provider. Symptoms typically appear two to eight days after exposure.