Anyone who authorizes feeding raw sprouts or cold colds to immunocompromised old people in hospitals is a microbiological moron and criminally negligent.

Paul Sakkal and Liam Mannix of The Age report a woman has died and thousands of people are at risk of listeria infection after the bacteria was detected in food from a south-east Melbourne catering company that supplies food to hospitals, aged care homes and Meals on Wheels.

The catering service I Cook Foods has been shut down after the woman, who was aged in her 80s and from the eastern suburbs, died in Knox Private Hospital on February 4.

Victoria’s acting Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the potentially contaminated food was in circulation until Thursday night, meaning people may have been eating the food on Friday morning.

“People who might’ve eaten it [on Thursday] or in recent weeks might still develop illness,” Dr Sutton said.

“Potentially thousands of people have been exposed.

“I don’t want to see any more [deaths].”

Six positive samples of listeria were found at the company’s Dandenong South kitchen during an investigation into the cause of the woman’s death over the past two weeks.

Offspring lead singer and chief songwriter, Dexter, has a PhD in microbiology.