Final test results from Stockholm's Coco & Carmen restaurant indicate truffle contains high levels of listeria. Over 150 people sought care after the outbreak in late September. Authorities are now investigating the truffle's origin internationally.
In late September, the upscale restaurant Coco & Carmen in Stockholm's Östermalm district experienced a major listeria outbreak. Over 150 people sought hospital care in the Stockholm region after dining there.
Environmental authorities in Stockholm have now received final test results from six truffle samples delivered, prepared, and frozen in July. All samples contain elevated levels of listeria, despite truffle being considered a low-risk product. “Miljöförvaltningen har nu fått in samtliga provsvar som tagits på en restaurang på Östermalm i samband med listeriautbrottet. Resultaten för de sex olika proverna med tryffel visar att samtliga innehåller listeria i högre halter”, writes Lovisa Grimsell, communicator for the environmental department, in an email.
Kajsa Eriksson, unit manager for food control, states that listeria can originate from soil and that they are tracing the truffle's source through an international alert system. “På det sättet kan de uppmärksamma det här och i sin tur skicka det vidare”, she says. Eriksson notes no errors have been found at the restaurant, and since the truffle was prepared on-site, it cannot be definitively confirmed as the raw material source. Listeria was found in the operations and spread to various areas.
Further investigation continues. The Swedish Food Agency and Public Health Agency will compare listeria strains from samples and affected individuals, a process expected to take about one month.