Belfast Crown Court heard on Wednesday that compensation was paid to around 80 people by Moviehouse Cinema Limited – the parent company of the former Flicks restaurant at the Cityside complex, which was voluntary closed two days after the second outbreak emerged.

The payments ranged from £3,000 to £12,000.

Moviehouse Cinema Limited, which was represented in court by its managing director Michael McAdam, admitted a total of 11 separate food hygiene offences.

They included failing to ensure that food handlers were supervised and instructed, failing to ensure that staff toilets were kept clean, and keeping food at a temperature which was likely to support the growth of pathogenic micro-organisms or the formulation of toxins.

The court heard that Flicks Restaurant was at the centre of two outbreaks of E. coli in 2012 – one in August which affected four people and a second outbreak detected in October where there were 141 confirmed cases.