It’s a simple question that journalists and beaurocrats in Queensland (that’s in Australia) seem unwilling to answer: were raw eggs used in any of the menu items that sickened 250 school principals, and now an additional 20 people on the Gold Coast?

Australians are into food porn – show us mere residents the recipes.

Darling Downs Fresh Eggs,a Queensland egg producer, has issued a voluntary recall of its caged and mountain range free eggs.

In a statement, the company said it issued the recall after being advised of a production issue with the eggs that had a Julian date of 036 up to and including 063.

“It was possible that dirty eggs may have been packed into some of these cartons and we are implementing a voluntary recall of these eggs,” the statement said.

Food safety amateur hour continues in Brisbane.

Those 250 school principals that got sick in Brisbane at a conference last week?

Nothing, no follow up.

Now, with at least 20 people sick linked to eggs at a Gold Coast restaurant in a separate outbreak, the most telling lines in a press conference earlier today were that the restaurant continued to sell food after their head chef was hospitalized with food poisoning.

Grocer and Grind manager Martin Kralovic said the cafe’s head chef, James Lennon, was rushed to hospital on Sunday morning after eating some of the store’s eggs.

The following day a second Grocer and Grind chef was rushed to hospital with food poisoning.

Despite the two contaminations, Mr Kralovic said the cafe continued to serve customers until Tuesday when Gold Coast City Council health authorities inspected the venue.

Health inspectors cleared the cafe but were unable to confirm whether the eggs were the cause of the contamination. The cafe had dumped its stock of eggs on Sunday, fearing they may have been linked to the illness.

Mr Lennon, who was bedridden for four days, said he felt like he was going to die.

“I started feeling ill at about midnight on Saturday. I immediately knew it was the eggs because it is all that I had really eaten that day.

“Also a week prior to that our egg supplier turned up and told us they had been shutdown due to the contamination (at the convention centre) in Brisbane.”

Duh.

The Gold Coast Bulletin became aware of the food poisoning outbreak after being contacted by the father of a woman who became ill on Saturday evening.

The man, who did not want to be named, said his adult daughter was admitted to Robina Hospital late on Saturday after eating eggs benedict at Grocer and Grind in the morning.

She ended up spending three days in hospital on a drip and yesterday was still very unwell and resting at home.

He said there were about 12 other patients in hospital with his daughter at the same time who were ill after eating at the cafe.

Mr Kralovic said the eggs came from the same farm which was involved in the recent contamination at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

It is understood the farm was forced to source eggs from another farm after the convention centre contamination.

The Bulletin contacted the second egg supplier but a staff member declined to comment.

Gold Coast Health spokesman yesterday said an outbreak of 20 people was classed as severe and the public health unit were investigating but could not confirm the cafe as suspected source for legal reasons related to the Food Act.

Catch-22.