Illinois public health officials announced that they are looking into the possibility that a Salmonella outbreak among students who attend 5 different schools outside Chicago, including a school in southwestern Lake County, was caused by school lunches.
According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, students from a southwestern Lake County school and 3 schools in Cook County had became ill with Salmonella infections in late September. One Lake County child was hospitalized but has been released. The Tribune reported that the likely source of the Salmonella outbreak was food provided by OrganicLife, a vendor for the school kitchens. OrganicLife sent letters to the schools it serves, alerting them to the outbreak. Public health officials were unable to determine a specific food source as the cause of the Salmonella outbreak. They believe the outbreak is over.
