More than 30 people have reported falling ill after eating at one of the CNE's most highly featured food vendors at the fair Tuesday, according to Toronto Public Health officials.

Epic Burgers, a CNE food vendor known for its outrageous burger called the "cronut," has been shut down amid a public health investigation. The owners of the shop voluntarily closed down and will remain closed until officials can determine what made the public sick, said Dr. Lisa Berger, Toronto's associate medical officer of health.

Berger held a news conference Wednesday afternoon alongside CNE officials.

She encouraged people to come out to the annual fair and enjoy all it has to offer, adding that the risk of becoming sick is now low.

All food on the Epic Burgers premise have been thrown out but not before health inspectors sent samples of the food for testing. Those results won't be known for at least 48 hours, Berger said.

The source of the illness has still not been confirmed by Toronto Public Health, even though most of the reports are coming from people who say they became violently ill after eating the famed cronut burger from the Epic Burgers stand inside the CNE's food hall.

The much-hyped burger features a cheese-coated beef patty with a croissant-doughnut hybrid as the bun. The burger plays off on the cronut craze that started in New York City, and it is collaboration between Epic Burgers, which previously gained fame for its Krispy Kreme doughnut burger, and Le Dolci bakery, which is responsible for the pastry portion of the high-calorie creation.

Toronto paramedics say they assessed 12 people at the event Tuesday night who complained of “gastrointestinal symptoms," and five of them were taken to hospital for further treatment. On Wednesday, after news of the illnesses became public, more people called the public health hotline to report their own malaise.

Berger said they are still in the process of interviewing all those who have called in but that so far, 34 people have described symptoms that have been likened to food poisoning.

CP24 has received phone calls, emails and tweets from people who say they experienced symptoms of a foodborne illness and weren't assessed by paramedics at the CNE.

In interviews with CP24, about half a dozen fairgoers identified the $10 cronut burger as the possible cause of their illness.

Cambridge resident Chris Parnell, 24, said he ate the cronut burger and decided to leave the Ex when he began to feel unwell, but he started vomiting as he walked to his car.

On the drive home with his wife, Parnell repeatedly had to pull over to throw up, so he finally stopped and called paramedics for help.

Parnell said he blacked out and was taken to hospital in Brampton, where he was given medication and released a few hours later.

He said the cronut burger was the only thing he ate before he became sick.

“It was really bad stomach cramps and then I became nauseous and then I could not stop getting sick,” Parnell told CP24.

Teen spends night in hospital

A Guelph mother named Anna said her 13-year-old son ate the cronut burger around 2 p.m. and began vomiting about three hours later.

It was the only thing he ate, she told CP24.

The family was forced to leave the Ex and return to Guelph, where the teen spent the night in hospital with an intravenous (IV) drip, Anna said.

A fairgoer named Christopher said he awakened early Wednesday morning with diarrhea, stomach pain and nausea.

Christopher said the sole thing he ate at the CNE was a cronut burger around 8:40 p.m.

He said the cronut burger was “on the stale side,” but he ate it anyway and felt fine until the symptoms developed hours later.

Inspectors not drawing conclusions yet

Jim Chan, manager of Toronto Public Health, said earlier Wednesay most of the reports point to one establishment, but the agency also has information relating to other vendors.

He said it’s too early to draw conclusions about the vendor or type of food that may be responsible because inspectors have more work to do.

In a written statement, the CNE said it took “immediate action” with Toronto Public Health to determine what caused people to fall ill.

In response to the reports, the CNE assured fairgoers it has stringent food safety regulations that are monitored daily.

Toronto Public Health officials say 200 food vendors were inspected during the CNE’s opening weekend, and Epic Burgers was not cited for any issues.

Of the others, 17 were given conditional passes and one was given a ticket, Giovani said.

Symptoms of foodborne illnesses can include abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever, Toronto Public Health says on its website.

The agency says symptoms can clear up on their own or with treatment, and they can occur anywhere from hours to months after exposure.

Organizers are urging people to call 311 if they fell ill at the CNE or after visiting the fair between Aug. 16 and Aug. 20.

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