Katrina Stokes of The Advertiser reports that documents released under the freedom of information act highlighted numerous potential problems with the Intercontinental’s cooking practices, which left 83 people ill with salmonella poisoning after eating at the Riverside restaurant on Sunday, July 31. These include the known safety risk of using the same whisk in both cooked and raw eggs.
An Adelaide city council report, obtained by The Advertiser from Duncan Basheer Hannon, confirms the common link between the affected individuals was the consumption of scrambled eggs. Test results identified Salmonella Typhimurium.
An investigation led by the council in early august concluded a long list of “issues” with cooking processes at the hotel.
They included:
A whisk used throughout the (scrambled egg) cooking process from a raw egg mix to a cooked mix.
Scrambled eggs were continually topped up and not fully replaced between the hours of 6.30am and 9.15am.
Serving spoons were replaced only when deemed necessary, posing a potential risk for cross-contamination.
The stick blender used to mix raw eggs was inadequately sanitised.
The nightshift chef responsible for preparing the raw-egg mix did not adequately understand correct cleaning and sanitising processes.
Scrambled egg reheat temperatures were not recorded on July 31 and there was no thermometer to record temperatures because it was “lost three months ago.”
A plastic container storing raw egg slurry had a damaged lid and rough internal surfaces, which were identified as difficult to clean and sanitise.
Intercontinental Adelaide general manager Colin McCandless said the report was a “hypothesis.”
Mr McCandless said the hotel had produced a score of “100 per cent” in a recent external audit of food safety procedures.
Audits often mean little.
That’s the same McCandless who in early Augest said it was ‘absolutely safe’ to eat at the hotel.
The hotel’s $37 full breakfast buffet at the Riverside restaurant includes scrambled eggs.
