Nine people in California are confirmed sick with a dangerous form of E. coli — and six of them are children — following an outbreak linked to beef kofta served at The Kebab Shop restaurant chain. Federal genetic testing published June 1, 2026 has now confirmed what public health investigators have long suspected: the outbreak strain matched samples of raw ground beef kofta produced by Olympia Food Industries Inc., in Franklin Park, Illinois, and distributed to Kebab Shop locations in California, Texas, and Florida. Five of the nine patients required hospitalization. Two children developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) — a potentially fatal kidney failure condition that is the most feared complication of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli infections.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirmed the nine California cases with illness onset dates ranging from March 27 through April 30, 2026. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)issued a formal public health alert on May 24, 2026, noting that the implicated beef kofta was produced by Olympia Food Industries Inc. (Establishment 18743) in Franklin Park, Illinois on January 6, 2026. The Kebab Shop stopped selling the beef kofta product at all of its restaurant locations on May 18, 2026, meaning the risk of new exposure from this product is not ongoing. A formal recall was not issued because no products remained for sale at the time of the alert.
