BOSTON (WHDH) - Chicken and Rice Guys shut down their restaurants and food trucks in Boston after several customers said they became sick from exposure to E. Coli.
The Boston Public Health Commission said seven confirmed cases of E. Coli were linked to Chicken and Rice Guys. Several of those sickened were hospitalized. A representative from the restaurant said they believe all the cases came from the food trucks or the Allston location between March 27 and April 6.
The company, which said it voluntarily closed its locations, is working with city health inspectors to make sure everything is safe before opening again. They said they have also hired an independent food safety expert and an outside cleaning service. The three restaurants and four food trucks will be closed through Monday. The Medford location is closed as well.
“The owners have been tremendously cooperative,” said William Christopher Jr. of the Boston Department of Inspectional Services. “As soon as we started talking to them, they shut everything down.” After the locations were voluntarily closed on Tuesday, the city officially shut down Chicken and Rice Guys Wednesday. The food trucks were inspected Wednesday afternoon.
All the food will have to be destroyed, the employees tested and the kitchens sanitized before the restaurants and food trucks can reopen. The state is running tests to see where the outbreak started.
The company issued the following statement addressing the outbreak:
“Dear our loyal customers, it has been recently brought to our attention that some of our patrons have not been feeling well after visiting some of our food trucks. Currently, we have not figured out the cause and have decided to voluntarily shutdown affected operations. It is always CNRG’s goal to provide the best service and products to our fans and we will not do that until we can.”
If you have fallen ill after eating at one of the restaurants, please contact us at 7News@whdh.com.
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