Company at centre of E. coli outbreak at Calgary daycares faces licensing charges

Almost a dozen child care facilities in the Calgary area have been shut down due to an E. coli outbreak, AHS says.

CALGARY - The City of Calgary says it has charged a catering company and school lunch delivery service provider at the centre of an E. coli outbreak affecting several daycares.

The city alleges Fueling Minds Inc. had been providing third-party food services to five Calgary child-care centres not owned by the company without a proper licence.

The corporation and its two directors have each been charged under the municipal business licensing bylaw for operating without a business licence for a total of 12 charges.

They could face a total fine of up to $120,000.

Investigators have previously said the source of the outbreak almost certainly came from the central kitchen used by the 11 daycares at the root of the outbreak.

Dozens of children have been hospitalized and hundreds more have fallen ill.

Some Fueling Brains preschools may reopen on Monday and Tuesday, as AHS reports 142 lab-confirmed cases of E.coli linked to a shared kitchen used by the centres. (Tyson Fedor)