The number of people reportedly sickened in an E. coli outbreak in Minnesota grew from three to 14 Tuesday, and a second Taco John's fast-food restaurant was implicated in the cases.

A Taco John's in Albert Lea was linked to E. coli cases initially, but now half the 14 people reporting E. coli symptoms ate at the chain's Austin location, according to the state Department of Health.

Produce is the suspected culprit, Taco John's officials said Tuesday. Starting today the company, based in Cheyenne, Wyo., will have a new produce distributor, replacing a company that served 100 of the chain's 400 restaurants.

Both Minnesota locations remained open after being cleared by food inspectors, as did an Iowa Taco John's involved in an earlier outbreak.

None of the 14 reported Minnesota cases has been confirmed in the Health Department's lab, though five patients tested positive in physicians' offices, according to department spokesman Buddy Ferguson.

He called the other nine "probable cases," on the basis of when and where the patients ate and what their symptoms were. Bloody diarrhea is the most common symptom of an E. coli 0157 infection, which can have serious complications, especially in children.

The state expects to have lab results on all 14 cases today, Ferguson said.

Investigators also are trying to determine if the same strain of bacteria that caused the Minnesota cases also is responsible for an outbreak at a Taco John's location in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Three dozen people were sickened there, and 14 were hospitalized.

In the Minnesota outbreak, one person was hospitalized with HUS, or hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a complication caused by E. coli that is marked by kidney failure.

E. coli is a strain of bacteria found in the intestines of animals and humans that can contaminate meat, fruit and vegetables in the growing and processing of food and can be spread by unclean hands.

Taco John's said it is cooperating with health departments in both states while conducting its own investigation. The company has 72 restaurants in Minnesota. State health officials say there's no known link between the Taco John's cases and dozens of cases linked to the Taco Bell chain in several Eastern states.

Donna Halvorsen • 612-673-1709