2 children dead in France E. coli outbreak linked to frozen pizzas

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) – Two children have died in a severe E. coli outbreak in France believed to be linked to frozen pizzas from Nestle’s Buitoni brand, authorities said on Wednesday.

Scores of people, including children aged between 1 and 18, have had serious cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) bacterium.

At least two children have died and 104 cases of HUS are under investigation, according to national health agency Sante Publique France.

“Epidemiological, microbiological and traceability analyses have confirmed a link between cases of HUS and the consumption of frozen pizzas from the Fraich’Up range of the Buitoni brand contaminated with Escherichia coli bacteria that produce Shiga-toxins,” the agency said in a statement.

Regional authorities have been recording extreme cases of HUS since Jan. 1 with symptoms including diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting.

Buitoni has recalled Fraich’Up frozen pizzas from supermarkets and advised consumers not to consume products purchased before March 18.

“As soon as we were alerted on March 17 of a possible link with one of our products, we immediately took the decision to withdraw all Fraich’Up pizzas on sale, interrupted all deliveries, and suspended production,” read a company statement.