Confirmed cases of salmonella, linked to a South Australian bakery, have climbed to 35 with more expected as tests continue.
SA Health says nine people, including two children, have been hospitalised after eating products from the Gawler South bakery, which has two outlets in Gawler, about 40km north of central Adelaide.
The link to the bakery was first revealed late last month.
“We’ve now seen cases in people aged two years to 70 years old and we are anticipating more cases as further test results come through,” SA Health’s director of public health Kevin Buckett said.
The source of the contamination had been linked to sandwiches, wraps, rolls and focaccias with chicken and other fillings.
“While salmonella wasn’t detected in the food and environmental samples taken from the bakery last week, this isn’t unusual, as the source of the contamination has often passed by the time we identify a common link between cases,” Buckett said.
He said the bakery’s management was cooperating with authorities and had made improvements to food safety practices.
In a statement posted on social media the bakery’s management said it was no longer cooking chicken on the premises and SA Health officials were happy with its food handling processes.
Management also apologised to anyone who had become sick. “We hope this apology is received to be genuine and in good faith,” the statement said.
According to the ABC, the bakery was also struck by a salmonella outbreak in October 2016 which affected eight people.
The symptoms of salmonella infection include diarrhoea, fever, vomiting, headaches, stomach cramps and loss of appetite. Symptoms typically appear 12 to 36 hours after exposure, but can appear as soon as six hours and up to 72 hours afterwards.
Infection is usually the result of ingesting bacteria from contaminated food, water or hands. High-risk foods include poultry, meat, eggs and milk.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
