‘Special roll’ at Montana sushi restaurant at the center of illness outbreak that has killed two

Mushrooms served at a sushi restaurant in Montana are believed to have infected 41 and killed two customers.

The likely source of the outbreak is morel mushrooms served at Dave’s Sushi in Bozeman, Montana as part of a special menu item on Monday 17 April.

Donna Ventura, 64, and William Lewis, 74, both died within days of eating at the restaurant.

The establishment temporarily closed on Friday 21 April and posted a statement on its Instagram page which said: ‘We understand that several of our customers who dined with us on Monday, April 17, 2023 became ill. 

‘We believe that the common ingredient that may have been consumed was FDA-approved, cultured, morel mushrooms used in Monday’s special roll.’

A Department of Public Health and Human Services investigation determined the morel mushrooms were cultivated in China, shipped to a distributor in California and then sent to multiple states. 

However, no known illnesses have been reported in other states.

The mushrooms were not sent to any other restaurants or businesses in Montana.

William Lewis, 74, of Townsend, ate at the restaurant on Monday 17 April and died the next morning.

A relative told police officers Mr Lewis became very ill and dehydrated after dinner. 

Donna Ventura, 64, died on April 29 at Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center due to a foodborne illness.

A regular customer at Dave’s Sushi, she visited for lunch on April 17, where she reportedly ate the ‘special roll’ containing salmon and morel mushrooms.

Within an hour of eating the meal, Ms Ventura allegedly started experiencing extreme symptoms and later collapsed at home.

Donna Ventura, 64, (left) died on April 29 at Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center due to a foodborne illness. William Lewis, 74, from Townsend, Montana, died on April 18 (right).

Morel mushrooms have a honeycomb appearance.

She was brought to Bozeman Health Deaconess Regional Medical Center by ambulance where she went into cardiac arrest. 

Ms Ventura experienced multiple organ failures and died in the ICU 13 days later.

Her husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the restaurant on Tuesday claiming Dave’s Sushi caused Ms Ventura significant and life-threatening injuries and that her husband and son should receive compensation.

Other customers who have fallen ill told health officials they became sick within half an hour to 45 minutes of eating at the restaurant.

The Gallatin City-County Health Department reported on May 3 that three individuals had had severe outcomes, including hospitalizations, in addition to the two deaths.

The cause of the deaths have not yet been confirmed nor directly linked to the restaurant. 

Dave’s Sushi said the morel mushrooms were ‘cultured’ and from an ‘FDA-approved source’.

While they were reportedly only served in a specialty item on April 17, the Gallatin City-County Health Department said the outbreak is isolated to people who ate at Dave’s Sushi between March 31 and April 17, 2023.

Eating raw or undercooked morels can pose a serious health risk, as can eating them alongside alcohol.

Illness from eating morel mushrooms begins within a few hours and causes nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Dave’s Sushi released a statement last Wednesday which said: ‘We’ve hired a sanitarian consultant, formerly with the Gallatin City-County Health Department, to fully and thoroughly inspect our restaurant and conduct extensive food safety updates for our staff.’

The restaurant is due to reopen on Monday 15 May.

A routine inspection of Dave’s Sushi carried out on April 18, 2023, found four health and safety violations. 

The restaurant had only ever received a single violation in its previous routine inspections dating back to 2015.

The violations in April 2023 were inadequate temperature control for some foods, ‘unsafe’ utensils and food-contact surfaces, insufficient sanitization of wiping cloths and not maintaining tags for fresh shellfish imports for 90 days as required.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million Americans fall sick from foodborne illnesses every year. 

Some 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 die.

Adults over the age of 65 are at higher risk of having a serious reaction.