A total of 58 employees who worked at the Zappos plant in Bullit County, Kentucky were infected by a bacteria called Bacillus cereus in December. At least twenty-nine sought medical attention, but nobody was hospitalized.
With the full cooperation of Zappos and the contracted caterer, Materson’s, the health department has completed an investigation into the matter. The investigation has included interviewing both sick and well employees who worked that shift and assessing the food service at the facility. In addition, laboratory testing of clinical specimens was completed at Public Health’s Division of Laboratory Services in Frankfort.
During the investigation, Public Health’s Division of Laboratory Services identified bacillus cereus from clinical specimens. Bullitt County Health Department was not able to identify the specific food ingested that caused the foodborne illness due to the lack of food samples available. Suggestions for improvements made by the Bullitt County Health Department and Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness have been well received by the company and its vendor. Therefore, the public is not felt to be at further risk for illness.