A catering company has been fined £20,111 after hundreds of wedding guests were struck with food poisoning from eating contaminated rice.

Ealing Council’s food safety team were first alerted by the father of the bride on September 24, 2013, who that 90% of the 470 wedding guests were suffering with food poisoning.

However, the prosecution could only be based on the 93 guests who formally reported their symptoms of food poisoning to investigators.

Investigators linked the food poisoning with rice prepared by the Royal Club of 116 – 118 Ruislip Road, Greenford, which a Public Health England food examiner found to be ‘potentially injurious to health and/or unfit for human consumption’.  It was found to contain E.coli – a bacteria associated with fecal contamination – and Bacillus bacteria.

Inspections of the Royal Club kitchen revealed serious food hygiene violations. Only one member of staff was trained in food safety. Both the head chef and remaining staff had not received any food safety training at all. Inspectors also discovered that The Royal Club had no refrigerated vehicles in which to safely transport food to events.