A judge has fined a commercial kitchen company $10,000 for bylaw offences linked to an E. coli outbreak at Calgary daycares that saw hundreds of children fall ill.

Fueling Minds Inc. pleaded guilty in April to four offences relating to the company’s failure to have a catering licence.

The company faced a maximum $40,000 fine, but lawyers made a joint submission recommending $10,000 and the judge agreed.

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Justice Mathieu St. Germain said the higher fine would have been appropriate if there had been evidence the outbreak was linked to or caused by the company’s offences.

“However, that nexus for connection is not in the facts before me. I’m not entitled to start drawing such inferences or speculating outside of evidence,” he said Tuesday.

About 448 people were infected with E. coli, including 39 children and one adult who were hospitalized, in the fall of 2023.

A report by Alberta Health Services released last year said the outbreak was likely tied to meat loaf but that it might never be determined how the bacteria got there.

The lawyer for Fueling Minds has said his client takes what happened seriously.