ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A woman who said her daughter got an E. coli infection after eating at a catered event for the Rockwood School District is suing the company that catered the event.
In a lawsuit filed Monday, Jennifer Cumbus alleges that her daughter ate at an event catered by Andre's Banquets and Catering on Nov. 8, and started showing symptoms of an E. coli infection two days later. In the days since, Cumbus said her daughter has not been able to keep food down and has lost seven pounds.
On Monday, the St. Louis County Department of Public Health said there were 94 identified cases of E. coli infection, primarily in the Rockwood Summit High School community. The health department linked the outbreak to four separate events "hosted at or catered through Andre’s Banquets and Catering" in association with the school.'
In a statement, Andre's owner John Armengol Jr. denied that the catering business was the source of the outbreak, and the health department said the business is cooperating with the investigation.
"Andres is heartbroken for the families that had to go through any type of food poisoning issues as we are aware of how severe they can be and that’s why Andres takes the extra steps to make sure no one ever has to go through with those students had to," Armengol said Monday in a statement. "All of our food is HAACP inspected and USDA certified through our provider. Our provider is the largest in the United States and stands behind every food item we ever order and serve."
The health department said it has not identified an exact ingredient it believes resulted in the outbreak, or the nature or timing of the contamination, but said it believes salad as a source.
The lawsuit alleges Andre's was negligent in serving contaminated food, which resulted in Cumbus' daughter getting sick.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for her daughter's illness.
John Armengol Jr., owner of Andre’s released the following statement Friday night:
"I adamantly (deny) that my business was the source of the outbreak. The health department that we have been in conjunction with have not tested any of the products - salad - or confirmed the source of the outbreak.
"Andre’s served over 3400 meals last week, the same food items with no outbreaks of any kind.
"We check our product loads daily and they are USDA inspected.
"The farms I buy from test products daily and those are USDA inspected.
"The press release by the health department, without texting the food products and listing Andre’s name, was not only reckless but defamatory to a business that has supported this community since 1980 and we defend ourselves to the fullest. Let the community know we provide safe food and environments for all events that we do.
"Andre’s did over 3,500 events last year and is sticking by their reputation and their food sources."
