Inspectors with Alberta Health Services have extended the closure of a popular restaurant located southeast of Calgary until further results have been received from tests on food preparation areas and the water system.
The Saskatoon Farm is located in Foothills County, about 20 minutes southeast of Calgary.
On Tuesday, the owners of the farm announced in a statement on social media that the restaurant would be closed on Wednesday, following reports of several people getting sick after dining at the facility.
While the farm’s owners claimed the planned one-day closure was voluntary, on Thursday morning, Alberta Health Services sent an update to Global News saying there are “88 reports of illness, and two recent hospitalizations are under investigation to determine if they are related to this incident.”
AHS said investigators conducted onsite inspections at the facility on July 19 and July 21, during which samples were collected from the food preparation areas and the water system and sent for laboratory testing and on Wednesday AHS inspectors issued an order that the food facility be closed “until the test results have been received and a thorough deep cleaning of the kitchen has been completed.”
Alberta Health Services said there have been reports of 88 people falling ill after dining at the Saskatoon Farm’s restaurant, including two who needed to be hospitalized.
Global News
The farm’s owners claim the issue was first brought to their attention on July 17 after people who dined there the two days prior became ill.
“The food was good. It was just really unfortunate afterwards,” said Lexi Wright, who described her flu-like symptoms to Global News. “I almost took myself to the ER (emergency room) — I truly should have. I had the worst fever, chills, I couldn’t keep anything down.”
The farm’s owners blamed changes in water quality for the problems.
Responding to an inquiry from Global News, Seann Hamer said “with the heavy rains last week we had groundwater get into our cisterns where we normally truck water in for the restaurant,” they said in a statement to Global News. “As soon as we noticed we switched to our treated well, purged all our affected lines with chlorine and switched to bottled water and pop.”
However, in its statement, AHS says “no definitive cause has been confirmed,” and “further investigation is needed,” including additional environmental inspections, outreach to affected individuals to gather detailed information about their symptoms and food history, and a comprehensive review of the drinking water system.”
While the owners of the Saskatoon Farm blame groundwater contamination for making people ill, Alberta Health Services says ‘no definitive cause has been confirmed’ and ‘further investigation is needed.’.
Global News
Late Wednesday, the farm’s owners posted another update on social media confirming the closure of the restaurant, bakery and Red House “until conclusive (test) results are returned.”
The owners claim they are “fully cooperating with AHS and are taking all necessary actions to address the situation and work toward a safe reopening.”
In the meantime, the farm’s owners say the gift store, farmers market and offices remain open and the Saskatoon berry U-pick will be in operation this weekend.