The Flathead City-County Health Department has increased the numbers of those sickened with E. coli O157:H7 for 14 to 22. Illnesses have been reported in Montana residents as well as people who visited Montana over the 4th of July week including Arizona, Oregon, Wyoming, Florida, Virginia and Canada.
On July 25th, FCCHD and DPHHS received confirmatory testing results of clinical and food samples verifying ground beef as the exposure of concern. Specifically, the source of the outbreak was wagyu beef from one lot number. All cases reported eating undercooked or made-to-order burgers made with wagyu beef at one of multiple restaurants in Flathead County. The last known date of consumption was July 14, 2024.
Lower Valley Processing products are the source of the outbreak and were labeled with “Lower Valley Processing, Co.,” establishment number “EST. 007” inside the Montana mark of inspection on the product labels, and lot numbers 1398, 1399 and 1400. In addition, Range Land & Cattle has been implicated as well.
All potentially affected products have been removed from the marketplace by public health officials, the Department of Livestock and Lower Valley Processing. Some products may have been sold direct to consumers prior to discovery of potential contamination.
The following restaurants are associated with the 14 cases of reported illness in this outbreak: Gunsight Saloon; Hops Downtown Grill; Tamarack Brewing Company; the Lodge at Whitefish Lake; and Harbor Grille. Furthermore, based on information provided through case investigation, one individual has died after exposure to wagyu beef consumed at Harbor Grille.