Salmonella was confirmed in a number of people hospitalized earlier this month after consuming a traditional Ecuadorean dish containing guinea pig at a Minneapolis street fair. However, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday that some of the 81 people sickened had not eaten the dish.The report quoted a city spokesman saying that while the food vendor had a city permit, he sold unapproved food which had been improperly handled.
The outbreak occurred Aug. 11 at the Ecuadorean Independence Day celebration in Minneapolis. A number of people later ended up at two local hospitals with severe gastrointestinal symptoms after eating the tainted food.
The Minnesota Department of Health said that some of them tested positive for salmonella, and that everyone who fell ill was treated and released.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture took samples of several food products sold at the fair and is testing them to pinpoint the cause of the contamination, said Margaret Hart, a spokeswoman for the department.
