In the Kingston area of Eastern Ontario, 15 cases of food poisoning from salmonella bacteria have been linked to raw bean sprouts.

At least 200 people across Ontario have become ill as result of salmonella in the past two months. Those infected in Kingston ate raw bean sprouts, either at a downtown restaurant or after buying them from local grocery stores.

People in the area are advised not to eat any bean sprouts until the source of the outbreak is identified, said Dr. Ian Gemmill, medical officer of health for the region.

The source of contamination doesn't appear to be local, and could be as remote as a grower of the seeds in China, he said.