On Wednesday, July 11, 2007, the City of Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced that the agency was investigating a number of cases of Salmonellosis that at the time appeared to be related to consumption of foods served at the Pars Cove Persian Cuisine booth at the Taste of Chicago festival held the weekend of July 7.
In what was reported to be the first confirmed outbreak of foodborne illness associated with Taste of Chicago in 20 years, CDPH announced that 17 people appeared to have illnesses associated with the Pars Cove Taste of Chicago booth; five had been confirmed as suffering Salmonella infections, several sought medical care and at least three were admitted to hospitals. CDPH urged anyone who had visited the Pars Cove booth and was experiencing symptoms of gastrointestinal illness to contact a health care provider and report their illness to the health department.
In a press release on July 13, CDPH announced that hummus shirazi, a fresh herb tomato cucumber salad over a bed of hummus, was the only dish served at the Pars Cove booth that was associated with illness.
More cases continued to be reported over the following weeks, and by August 8, 2007, CDOH had identified 790 people who reported becoming ill after eating food from the Pars Cove booth at the Taste of Chicago festival; 182 were lab-confirmed as Salmonella cases, with 169 cases identified as Salmonella Heidelberg. CDOH stated that 38 people had been hospitalized with Salmonella infections during the outbreak.
Marler Clark represented 23 clients in claims against Pars Cove. The law firm has resolved all cases.