Cronut Burger Food Poisoning: 100 People Get Sick From Knockoff Pastries In Canada
A Toronto cronut burger vendor at the annual Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto has been shuttered after its pastry sandwich caused over 100 cases of food poisoning.
Cronuts, the doughnut-croissant hybrid developed by NYC’s Dominique Ansel Bakery, have taken the world by storm, but have also led to a swath of imitators.
One example is Epic Burgers and Waffles, whose cronut burger was a feature selection at the Canadian National Exhibition, which started on Aug. 16 and runs until Sept 2. However, Epic’s stand was linked to 20 cases of foodborne illness on Tuesday, which multiplied five-fold by Thursday evening. Symptoms included diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and dehydration.
Although the Toronto Public Health (TPH) Department has not officially linked the mini epideimic to Epic, the fair's organizers have voluntarily shut down the vendor.
"Based on information to date, Toronto Public Health has concentrated our investigation around one food premise located at the CNE, however, all possible sources of illness are being investigated," said Dr. Lisa Berger, TPH Associate Medical Officer of Health. "Overall risk to the general public is low."
In a Facebook statement released on Thursday, Epic Burgers and Waffles claimed to have “a clean bill of health” with a staff that had “been fully trained in food safety." The company has sent food samples to the public health department’s labs for testing and will not reopen until results come back.