Second sizzler restaurant linked to E coli scare in US

A second steakhouse restaurant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been affected by E coli poisoning in what is said to be one of the largest outbreaks of the food bacteria in the USA (Caterer, 3 August, page 8).

More than 60 cases were confirmed at the end of last week, most of them linked to a Sizzler restaurant in the city's Layton Avenue. A three-year-old girl died two weeks ago after eating there. The second Sizzler, in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa, closed last week after two diners fell ill.

Health officials have traced the Layton Avenue outbreak to either contaminated watermelon or beef, but a spokesman for Sizzler USA said the cause was not yet known. "It could be manure, it could have come from a patron, or an employee. They have no idea," he said.