Alberta to reveal final report on food safety in child-care facilities

Alberta officials will reveal Monday the final report from a government-appointed panel that's been looking into food safety in kitchens that provide meals to licensed child-care facilities.

The panel was formed after an E. coli outbreak in Calgary in September 2023. There were at least 448 cases — including 38 children and one adult being hospitalized for severe illness.

Alberta Health Services previously said 23 children were diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication affecting the blood and kidneys, and eight required dialysis.

The eight-week outbreak was traced to Fueling Minds, a catering company and school lunch delivery service that prepared food for its locations and other daycares in Calgary.

Health officials have said meatloaf and vegan loaf meals served for lunch in August 2023 most likely contained the E.coli that led to the initial infections.

The City of Calgary charged Fueling Minds Inc. and its two directors, Faisal Alimohd and Anil Karim, in September 2023 with serving food at child-care centres in the city without a food services business licence.

The corporation and directors face 12 charges and a total fine of up to $120,000. They have pleaded not guilty.

The central kitchen was flagged during the outbreak for three critical health violations: lack of proper sanitization methods, a pest infestation and food being transported without temperature control.

The kitchen was shut down. It reopened in mid-November 2023 to receive and serve food prepared by another provider.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has previously said the panel would look at whether policy changes are needed, including posting kitchen inspection reports on doors, and potential consequences for food operators who have repeat violations.

Smith has also said she asked the panel to look at "food handling requirements, such as temperature control and storage, both on-site where the food is prepared and stored, as well as off-site transit to where it will be delivered and consumed."

The news conference with the findings is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. MT.