Catering company at centre of Calgary daycare E. coli outbreak pleads not guilty to municipal charges

The owners of the company behind the historic Calgary E. coli outbreak at daycares back in September are appeared in court Tuesday, entering a ‘not guilty’ plea to several municipal bylaw charges.

The two directors of KidsU Centennial — operating as Fueling Brains Academy and Fueling Minds Incorporated — Faisal Alimohd and Anil Karim, are facing a fine of up to $120,000 for allegedly providing third-party food services to five Calgary childcare centres they didn’t own.

The city said in September the catering company had also been operating without a food services business license.

In total, the company faces 12 charges.

A lawyer for the company met with the Crown prosecutor in a Calgary courtroom Tuesday, where they pleaded ‘not guilty.’

A trial date has now been set for Sept. 6, 2024.

The outbreak was first declared on Sept. 4, and was linked to a central kitchen used by daycares throughout the city.

Eleven sites received tainted food from the kitchen, thought to be meatloaf and vegan loaf, which led to 446 cases of E. coli.

Alberta Health Services said on Oct. 31 in an announcement declaring the outbreak over, that 30 kids and one adult were hospitalized, and 23 of those patients were diagnosed with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Eight of those patients required dialysis.

The company is also the subject of a $10 million class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of impacted families at the end of September.