100 sickened with cyclospora at Georgia aquarium; it was the Wolfgang Puck food, not the fish

Channel 2 Action News has learned health investigators are looking into why more than 100 people got sick at a major Atlanta attraction.

The one thing everyone had in common was they all ate catered food at the Georgia Aquarium over the summer.

In the week of July 24, three groups had catered events at the aquarium. Two had corporate conferences, and there was a wedding reception, officials said. One or two weeks later people started coming down with week-long bouts of diarrhea.

The Georgia Division of Epidemiology said it is still investigating but told Channel 2’s Jeff Dore that cyclospora made the people sick, totaling well over 100 guests and staff.

Officials said they haven’t pinned the exact cause of the breakout, but did say the common food served at all three events was salad mix, fresh basil and cherry tomatoes.

Basil has a history of cyclospora outbreaks.

Wolfgang Puck catering prepares all the food at aquarium events, and its CEO took an overnight flight from California to talk with Channel 2.