Orange County bakery's permit suspended due to cockroach infestation
SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- An Orange County bakery was closed after 30 people fell ill after eating Rosca de Reyes, a fruit cake traditionally eaten on Jan. 6, known as Three Kings Day or Epiphany.
The cake was distributed countywide by Cholula's Bakery in Santa Ana to nearly a dozen different locations.
Those affected complained of dizziness, palpitations and numbness.
"I had never felt so terrified, like I didn't even know what was going on with me," said Ireri Hinojosa of Santa Ana.
Paramedics rushed Hinojosa to the hospital because she felt dizzy, numb and her heart was racing.
"I was hallucinating... I almost felt like I was not in my body," she said.
Helene Calvet, deputy health counselor for the Orange County Health Agency, says the symptoms are not contagious.
"Some people had symptoms as soon as 20 minutes after eating the bread, we don't think it's like a infectious agent so we're looking at other agents," Calvet said.
The Orange County Health Department and Santa Ana police officers spent Wednesday morning at the bakery. Health officials closed the store and suspended its permit, citing traces of cockroach infestation.
The owner of Cholula's Bakery refused to speak to Eyewitness News.
While the health department continues to investigate, Hinojosa says this could have been even worse for her family.
"If they would have ate what I ate, what could have happened to them? To like a 4-year-old? I have a 4-year-old," Hinojosa said.
The cake was sold at the following markets on Monday and Tuesday:
Cholula's Bakery
1002 E. 17th Street, Suite F
Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 972-3115
El Nopal Mercado
31451 Camino Capistrano
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
(949) 443-9145
La Bodega Ranch
918 N. Glassell St.
Orange, CA 92867
(714) 639-9199
La Bodega Ranch
1700 North Placentia Ave.
Fullerton, CA 92831
(714) 524-1432
Santa Ana Marquet
1216 W. 1st St.
Santa Ana, CA 92703
(714) 543-3655
Tony's Liquor
32141 Alipaz St.
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
(949) 218-8090
Gonzalez Marquet
235 W. La Jolla St.
Placentia, CA 92870
(714) 632-8655
Taqueria Mocorito Restaurant
1076 N. State College Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92805
(714) 491-2335
Taco Boy
725 North Anaheim Blvd.
Anaheim, CA 92805
(714) 491-7156
Brianna's Ice Cream
2107 E. Ball Rd.
Anaheim, CA 92806
(714) 635-6264
La Bodega Ranch Market
4945 Long Beach Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90805
(562) 423-8400
The Orange County Health Department is not treating this as a criminal investigation, but retailers and consumers were told to throw out any Rosca de Reyes from Cholula's Bakery.
