Listeria outbreak sickens over 100 at Stockholm luxury restaurant
More than 100 people have reported food poisoning after dining at Coco & Carmen, a luxury restaurant in Stockholm's Östermalm district. Several cases of listeria infection were confirmed, leading to around 20 hospitalizations. The source of the outbreak remains under investigation.
The listeria outbreak at Coco & Carmen restaurant in Stockholm was first noted on October 1, 2025, when around 15 people were hospitalized and the venue closed. Soon, over 100 individuals reported symptoms of food poisoning after visiting the luxury spot in Östermalm. Preliminary tests confirmed listeria at the restaurant on October 6, but the source remains unclear, as per Stockholm's environmental office and infection control authority.
All those hospitalized in Stockholm have been discharged, according to the infection control doctor. One affected guest, Diana, fell ill on her flight home to Sydney but has no regrets: "The oyster was really good" and "Fantastic evening".
Professor Marie-Louise Danielsson-Tham, a food hygiene expert at the Restaurant and Hotel School in Grythyttan, has reviewed the menu. She compares it to a 2001 outbreak at a Ljusdal farmstead, where about 100 people fell ill from fresh cheese containing millions of listeria bacteria. "Then we stood on warm summer days counting how many listeria bacteria there were in the patients' stool", she says. On Coco & Carmen's menu, she highlights risks like fresh cheese cream, possibly unpasteurized, as well as shrimp and char. Listeria multiplies in cold conditions, though slower than at room temperature, and requires improper storage to affect healthy individuals.
The investigation continues, with the Public Health Agency involved. The expert notes the food industry has grown more alert after prior cases with gravlax, affecting about a dozen people with fatalities.