A 66-year-old Hobart man who has been hospitalised for almost a fortnight — and remains in hospital — with salmonella has told of his horror and called for a public apology from the Venus cafe at Rosny Park that served him infected food.
The Tasmania Mercury reports that the man said there had been at least nine other patients suffering from salmonella in recent days and many blamed food from Venus.
They are among 75 Tasmanians who have reported having gastro symptoms after eating contaminated food last month. Most of those were infected after eating at funerals at Millingtons in Mornington, which has food supplied by a local catering company.
The man had lunch at Venus with his wife where he ate a prawn and asparagus baguette with aioli dressing before being sick.
The man said he wanted Venus to be held accountable.
"Their business was reopened within a couple of days and everything was forgotten, but we’re all still sick. It makes me really angry. I just want an open apology."
Director of Public Health Roscoe Taylor said tartare sauce containing raw egg had been confirmed as one cause but would not confirm if Venus was responsible, saying the department did not name businesses in outbreaks, adding,
"I can understand that people would want to seek retribution but our business is not the blame game, our interest is to protect the public."
But if food service is knowingly serving raw egg-based dishes to lots of people, including those at funerals in Hobart, where is the public protection?