Burger is key to CNE food illness

The much ballyhooed cronut burger is to blame.

At a news conference held late Friday afternoon, Toronto Public Health officials said they believe the cronut burger was responsible for up to 150 illnesses at the Canadian National Exhibition.

Dr. David McKeown says tests done on food samples taken from Epic Burger and Waffles, which is known for the cronut burger, tested positive for a bacteria known to cause gastro-intestinal illness.

“The only common food exposure that they had was the cronut burgers served by Epic Burger. There were no indications from that investigation of any other CNE food associated in this outbreak.”

McKeown says they’ve talked to about 100 of the people who got sick, and the cronut burger was the common factor in all cases. CNE officials are now confident the outbreak is over.