MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- A Minneapolis woman has been fined after tainted guinea pig meat serving at her market resulted in a mass salmonella outbreak, health officials said.

The Minnesota Department of Health issued a $1,000 citation Oct. 1 to Nieves Riera, owner of New York Plaza Produce. the citation says Riera obtained the guinea pigs and pork from sellers that aren't approved for wholesale, and that Riera slaughtered the guinea pigs in the back of her shop in August prior to an Ecuadorian Independence Festival, creating a health hazard.


More than 80 people fell ill as a result of eating the guinea pig meat, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is investigating the incident.