An Illinois division of Houston-based Sysco Corp. likely distributed the food linked to a salmonella outbreak at Subway restaurants earlier this year, and produce was the likely culprit.
While it remains uncertain exactly how consumers became ill, signs point to Lincoln, Ill.-based Sysco Central Illinois Inc. as the distributor, just as they earlier pointed to Subway as the restaurant, Melaney Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said Oct. 27.
“Sysco had no role in processing or repacking the produce, so contamination in a Sysco facility was near impossible,” said Mark Palmer, vice president of corporate communications for Sysco’s corporate office.