The Sky Valley Chronicle reports that the King County Health Department announced Friday afternoon it had closed two Redmond restaurants – I Love Sushi and Sodexo’s Café Mario both located at Nintendo of America at 4600 150th Ave NE, Redmond, WA.

The eateries were “Closed by a Public Health food inspector on July 5, 2018 at 5:30 pm due to the imminent health hazard of an ongoing suspected foodborne illness investigation,” said a news release from the health dept.

The health department, in a posting on its web page said that since July 2nd, “We have learned that four people (two King and two Snohomish County residents) have tested positive for STEC. All four consumed food from Café Mario in King County and work at the Nintendo of America campus in Redmond. Symptoms included abdominal cramps and bloody diarrhea. Illness onsets occurred during June 25–28, 2018. The four ill people consumed food from Café Mario on multiple days during June 18–22, 2018; one ill person also ate at I Love Sushi on June 19 and June 26, 2018, which is a food establishment that operates out of Café Mario once a week.”

On July 3rd, Seattle & King County Environmental Health investigators visited Café Mario. Inspections were completed for both Café Mario and I Love Sushi.

“At Café Mario, potential risk factors were identified, and corrective actions discussed with Café Mario’s management, including inadequate hand washing practices and improper cold holding temperatures of food,” said the statement. “At I Love Sushi, potential risk factors were also identified and discussed, including improper temperature storage of foods. Both restaurants were not open on July 4 due to it being a holiday.”

On July 5th investigators closed Café Mario and the onsite I Love Sushi food services. Both restaurants will remain closed until approved to reopen by Public Health.

Both food establishments will be required to complete a thorough cleaning and disinfection before reopening. Remaining food products are being held and environmental swabs were collected for laboratory testing.

“We are currently investigating whether any employees of these restaurants had a recent diarrheal illness. Investigators also reviewed with Café Mario’s management the Washington State Retail Food Code requirement that staff are not allowed to work while having vomiting or diarrhea,” said the Health Dept. statement.

Three of the four people who got sick tested positive for STEC by a healthcare provider. Further testing at the Washington State Public Health Laboratory is pending, including determining the genetic fingerprint and specific strain of STEC that caused the illnesses. The health dept. says the investigation is ongoing and it will provide more information as it becomes available.

The health dept. says STEC can cause serious illness. Anyone who ate at Café Mario and I Love Sushi at Nintendo of America during June 11, 2018 to July 5, 2018 and developed diarrhea (especially bloody diarrhea) within 10 days, should consult with their healthcare provider promptly to determine if testing is necessary.

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