Pizza Ranch Now Serving E. Coli On Its Menu: Iowa Store Linked To Outbreak

A Pizza Ranch franchise in Iowa has been linked to serving desserts contaminated with E. Coli in nine states, according to federal officials.

According to USA Today, the Pizza Ranch’s E. Coli outbreak started in December of last year when several patrons reported getting sick from the food.

CDC spokeswoman Brittany Behm confirms that those affected by Pizza Ranch’s food were diagnosed with being infected by E. Coli.

Behm said Wednesday that 13 people became ill. And out of those 13 people infected with E. Coli, nine of them recalled having recently eaten at Pizza Ranch.

Some of the Pizza Ranch customers included two children, in Kansas and Nebraska. The children suffered kidney failure and had to be hospitalized due to eating from Pizza Ranch.

They have since recovered from Pizza Ranch’s E. Coli infected-food and there were no fatalities, according to Behm.

Pizza Ranch cooperated with the E. Coli investigation which linked the Iowa location as the source of the outbreak. Investigators found that a dry dough mix was being used to make their desserts.

No bacteria were found in remaining samples of the dough mix, but the outbreak ended after the company stopped using the mix and a similar product by early February, she said.

A spokesman for Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, David Werning, said Iowa officials picked up samples from two Pizza Ranch restaurants then forwarded them to federal investigators. No E. Coli bacteria were found in those samples.

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Still, Pizza Ranch CEO Ryan Achterhoff took the high-precaution measure of disposing of the dough. The Pizza Ranch CEO released a statement regarding the E. Coli outbreak.

“We removed our Skillet Dough mix immediately from use in response to information suggesting that this product was a possible common factor in the illnesses and subsequently expanded this product withdrawal to include our Original Dough mix.”

According to Achterhoff, the E. Coli had originated “from an outsider supplier.” Pizza Ranch is based in Orange City, Iowa, and has 190 restaurants in 13 states.

Behm added that the illnesses happened in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, which all reportedly stemmed from Iowa.

The medical director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, Dr. Patricia Quinlisk, said that cases in Iowa law would not allow her to comment on the business involved.

However, she noted that it is unusual for E. Coli to be found in dry baking mixes. The doctor said that E. Coli is generally associated with meat or leafy vegetables that have been fertilized with manure.

For instance, the Inquisitrreported that restaurants serving both, like Chipotle Mexican Grill, have been responsible for massive E. Coli breakouts as of late.

Chipotle’s revenue took a detrimental hit when they shut down as customers and stakeholders grew increasingly wary of eating at the popular Mexican restaurant.

Some Pizza Ranch fans, however, are staying loyal to their favorite pizza joint — E. Coli infected or not.

Contrarily it has gone on record that E. Coli has, in fact, been found in dry dough food products. A multitude of people became ill with E. Coli back in 2009 when Nestle-Toll House was blamed for having E. Coli infected cookie dough.

According to FoodPoisoningBulletin.com, Minnesota-based personal injury law firm, PritzkerOlsen, has filed the first lawsuit against Pizza Ranch for their alleged E. Coli outbreak occurrence.

[Getty Images/Bloomberg]