I have been suing companies over contaminated ground beef for more than thirty years, and I had hoped I would not be writing this kind of alert in 2026. Yet here we are. Nine people in California — most of them children — were sickened with E. coli O157:H7 after eating beef kofta at The Kebab Shop, and as of this past week we now have genetic confirmation tying their illnesses to the meat. This is what I want the public to know about where things stand.

Where Things Stand Today

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and local health departments are investigating an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 linked to grilled beef kofta — seasoned ground beef kebabs — served at The Kebab Shop. As of June 1, 2026, the count stands at nine confirmed patients across five California counties. Six of them are children. Five people have been hospitalized, and two of the children developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), the kind of acute kidney failure that haunts these cases. No deaths have been reported. Reported illness onset dates run from March 27 through April 30, 2026.

The implicated beef kofta was produced as a raw ground beef product by Olympia Food Industries, Inc., doing business as Olympia Foods (Establishment 18743), in Franklin Park, Illinois, on January 6, 2026, and shipped to The Kebab Shop locations in California, Texas, and Florida. The Kebab Shop pulled the beef kofta from every one of its restaurants on May 18, 2026. FSIS issued a public health alert on May 24 rather than a recall, for the simple reason that the product was already gone from sale. Health officials say the exposure risk is not ongoing, and that no cases outside California have been connected to this outbreak.

The Genetic Match — and Why It Matters

The most important development came on June 1, when FSIS confirmed that whole genome sequencing of the beef kofta samples it collected — the product made at Olympia Foods — matched the outbreak strain of E. coli O157:H7 that sickened these families. In plain English: the laboratory fingerprint of the bacteria in the meat is the same fingerprint found in the patients. This is no longer a case built on interviews and circumstance. It is a confirmed link from a contaminated raw ground beef product, through the kitchen, and into children who ended up in the hospital.

That confirmation matters because it removes the convenient “we don’t really know” defense. We do know. The science is in. When a raw ground beef product carries E. coli O157:H7 — an adulterant, plain and simple — and that organism matches the people who fell ill, responsibility runs to the manufacturer of the meat and through the chain that served it.

The Case We Have Filed

We have not waited to act. On May 29, 2026, my firm filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of the family of a young child — identified in court papers by the initials J.A.K. — who was hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome and acute kidney failure after eating beef kofta at The Kebab Shop. The complaint names TKS Restaurants, LLC, the operator of The Kebab Shop, and Olympia Food Industries, Inc., the Illinois manufacturer that supplied the contaminated raw ground beef. It alleges strict product liability, negligence, breach of the implied warranty of merchantability, and violations of the federal food safety laws and USDA performance standards that govern ground beef. We intend to hold every responsible link in that chain accountable, and we stand ready to help any other family sickened in this outbreak.

What I Have Learned About E. coli and Ground Beef

My career in food safety began with hamburger. In 1993, the Jack in the Box E. coli O157:H7 outbreak swept through the Pacific Northwest, sickening hundreds and killing four children. I represented Brianne Kiner, a nine-year-old girl who was the most seriously injured survivor of that outbreak — she spent weeks in a coma and nearly lost her life to HUS. Her case ended in a landmark settlement, but more than that, it changed how I see a hamburger. Behind every “outbreak” headline is a Brianne, and a family whose life is divided into before and after.

In the years since, I have litigated E. coli and HUS cases tied to ground beef against Jack in the Box, Cargill, ConAgra, and others, alongside outbreaks traced to lettuce, spinach, sprouts, and raw milk. Over three decades my firm has recovered more than nine hundred million dollars for the people we represent. I take no satisfaction in those numbers. Every dollar reflects a person who was poisoned by food they trusted, and far too many of them were small children whose kidneys or brains were permanently injured by a pathogen they could not see, smell, or taste.

Here is what those thirty-plus years have taught me. Ground beef can be made far safer than it was in 1993 — the Jack in the Box outbreak drove real reform, including the designation of E. coli O157:H7 as an adulterant in raw ground beef and the testing and process controls that followed. Grinding commingles meat from many animals, so a single contaminated carcass can taint an enormous lot, and the bacteria live in the gut of healthy cattle and arrive at the plant on otherwise normal-looking meat. That is precisely why a manufacturer’s job is to test, to verify, and to keep the adulterant out — because a child cannot. Ground beef has been tamed. It has not been conquered. The Kebab Shop outbreak is this year’s reminder that the work is not finished, and that vigilance lapses still land children in intensive care.

A child should not eat a kebab and end up in the ICU on dialysis with seizures. That should never happen in 2026. We have known how to prevent these illnesses for thirty years, and when companies do the work, they do not happen.

If You or Your Family Ate Beef Kofta at The Kebab Shop

If you ate beef kofta at any The Kebab Shop location between March 27 and April 30, 2026, and then developed symptoms within about ten days — severe stomach cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea that is often bloody — contact your health care provider right away and tell them where you ate. Symptoms of an E. coli O157:H7 infection usually begin three to four days after exposure. Watch children especially closely: HUS can develop after the diarrhea seems to be improving, and warning signs include decreased urination, unusual paleness, easy bruising, and extreme fatigue. If you see those, seek emergency care immediately. Discard any leftover beef kofta from the restaurant.