On January 12, 2007, the Food and Drug Administration issued a press release, which stated that the FDA and state health officials were closer to identifying the source of E. coli contamination associated with the E. coli outbreak at Taco John's restaurants in Minnesota and Iowa. According to the FDA release, at least 81 individuals had become ill with E. coli infections after eating at Taco John's, including 33 from Minnesota, 47 from Iowa, and one from Wisconsin. Twenty-six people were hospitalized with E. coli infections, and two developed hemolytic uremic syndrome. Lettuce from California's Central Valley had been determined to be the source of the outbreak, with two environmental samples testing positive for a genetic match to the E. coli strain isolated from outbreak victims.
Although the outbreak occurred at the same time as the Taco Bell E. coli outbreak on the East Coast, the two outbreaks were never linked.