Kebab Shop Faces Lawsuit Over Severe E. coli Outbreak

ORANGE COUNTY, CA – May 26, 2026 – The popular restaurant chain The Kebab Shop and its Illinois-based beef supplier, Olympia Food Industries, are facing the first lawsuit stemming from a multi-county E. coli O157:H7 outbreak that has hospitalized five people and left a young girl battling for her life with acute kidney failure.

The lawsuit, filed today in Orange County by the national food poisoning law firm Ron Simon & Associates, alleges that contaminated beef kofta served at the restaurant chain caused the child to suffer a devastating illness that required 17 days of intensive hospital care. This legal action marks the first formal challenge against the companies as state and federal health officials continue to investigate the outbreak that has sickened at least nine people across California.

A Child's Fight for Life

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a minor, identified only as KG, who consumed a beef kofta plate from The Kebab Shop on April 28, 2026. According to the filing, the young girl soon developed severe symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting, which rapidly progressed. She was admitted to a children's hospital where she underwent numerous life-saving treatments over a 17-day period.

Doctors diagnosed KG with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS), a severe and life-threatening complication of E. coli O157:H7 infection. HUS is the leading cause of acute kidney failure in children in the United States. The Shiga toxins produced by the bacteria attack the lining of small blood vessels, particularly in the kidneys, leading to their destruction. This can cause kidney failure, anemia, and a drop in blood platelets. KG suffered acute kidney failure and remains in guarded condition.

"E. coli O157:H7 is uniquely dangerous to children, with the potential to cause life-threatening Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome, which is exactly what KG developed," stated Ron Simon, the food poisoning attorney representing the family. He warned that the long-term consequences of HUS can be severe, often including the need for lifelong medical care, dialysis, or a future kidney transplant.

An Outbreak Spanning California

The lawsuit follows a public health alert issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on May 24. The alert linked an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) O157:H7 to beef kofta products served at The Kebab Shop locations.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), which is leading the investigation, has confirmed nine cases of the outbreak strain across the state. The victims, who include six children, reported eating at The Kebab Shop between March 27 and April 30 of this year. Of the nine individuals sickened, five required hospitalization, and two, including KG, developed HUS. So far, no deaths have been reported.

In response to the investigation, The Kebab Shop announced on May 18 that it had voluntarily halted the sale of all beef kofta products at its locations in California, Texas, and Florida. The company also stated that it has severed ties with the supplier, Olympia Food Industries. Health officials have indicated that because the product is no longer available for purchase, the risk of ongoing exposure from the restaurant is not present, and thus a formal recall was not requested.

Scrutiny on the Supply Chain

The investigation has traced the source of the contaminated meat to a raw ground beef kofta product produced by Olympia Food Industries, Inc., an Illinois corporation operating out of a large facility in Franklin Park. The FSIS alert specified that the implicated beef was produced on January 6, 2026.

Olympia Food Industries promotes its facility as being SQF Level 2 certified, a rigorous food safety and quality standard recognized globally. The company's website emphasizes a commitment to safety through the implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) programs. The current outbreak raises critical questions about how a dangerous pathogen like E. coli O157:H7 could have contaminated the product despite these stated safety measures.

For its part, The Kebab Shop has publicly stated its cooperation with the CDPH investigation and noted that inspections of its restaurants confirmed compliance with health and safety regulations. Some locations temporarily closed to facilitate deep cleaning and food safety audits. However, the lawsuit alleges that both the restaurant chain and its supplier are responsible for placing a dangerously contaminated product into the stream of commerce.

Legal Battle and a Call for Accountability

The legal action filed by Ron Simon & Associates, in conjunction with The Gomez Trial Attorneys, seeks to hold both The Kebab Shop and Olympia Foods accountable for the harm caused to victims. Food poisoning litigation often hinges on proving a direct link between an illness and a specific food product, a connection that health agencies appear to have established through epidemiological and traceback investigations in this case.

Ron Simon, whose firm has recovered over $850 million for victims in past food poisoning cases, emphasized the lawsuit's dual purpose. "Through this and other lawsuits we are going to make sure that all of the victims in this outbreak are fairly and fully compensated for their injuries, and that The Kebab Shop takes steps to prevent this from ever happening again," he said.

The firm has established The Kebab Shop E. coli Claim Center to assist other individuals who may have been affected by the outbreak. Simon urges any consumer who ate at the restaurant chain in late March or April and experienced symptoms of E. coli infection to seek immediate medical attention and contact health officials. The long-term health and financial burdens on families affected by severe foodborne illness, especially HUS, are often immense, and legal experts note that settlements in such cases can run into the millions of dollars to cover a lifetime of medical needs.