Moldy bun on airport burger: Australian man wants apology

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Douglas Powell

A Melbourne Airport traveler is in a bun fight with a fast food franchise after claiming he chowed down on a moldy burger.

Cameron Baker said he’s still looking for an apology from Oporto after biting into what he claims was a mold-ridden burger at its Melbourne Airport store in October last year.

He said he had eaten most of the burger before realizing there was an extra condiment and took it to the manager, who had promised he would be contacted by someone.

But according to Mr Baker, he was contacted by Delaware North, which manages and delivers catering and service at various retail outlets at Melbourne Airport.

He claimed they had “accepted no responsibility for the moldy burger” and had informed him not to discuss it with anyone.

“Everybody just tried to sweep it under the rug,” he said.

“(They told me) ‘we consider this matter closed’.”

Mr Baker had been on a stopover in Melbourne on his way back to Queensland following a short stint in Hobart.

He said he’d been immediately unwell as a result and had, until recently, been unable to eat meat.

He said he was slowly starting to eat meats again.

Australian student pizza joint shut down, fined $20,000

Posted on August 21, 2015 by Douglas Powell

A council inspection found Clayton’s Cafe Student Curries and Pizza restaurant failed to provide safe and clean food premises, leaving the restaurant with a $24,500 bill.

The breaches included inadequate pest control, poor food storage and hand washing facilities.

The council’s environmental health officer visited the premises on eight occasions, and found a litany of disgusting food handling practices, including bags of wheat and rice stored on the floor of a toilet area.

The restaurant was covered in grime and its hot water unit was not operating, a cooking pot was on the floor of the toilet area, with remnants of rice on it, and a dough mixing bowl was on the floor next to a mop bucket.

The inspector found drink serving trays, which were covered in grime and food residue, were being used to cover trays of dough and a cockroach was crawling behind a slicer on the microwave bench.

On the first visit in March, the inspector found 51 including no hand soap and foods like cheese and yoghurt kept in a broken fridge.

The council later issued a notice to the company for 68 non-compliances to the Food Act.

The cafe reopened once council officers were happy with the level of cleanliness and safety required under the Food Safety Act.

The restaurant serves Indo-Pakisanti food and a range of pizzas.

$19,000 fine: Is this Australia’s filthiest restaurant?

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Douglas Powell

A popular dumpling restaurant in Melbourne’s east has been exposed as a filthy cesspit, and its owner fined $19,000 after live and dead cockroaches, drain flies, rodent feces and filthy buildups of food waste, grease, oil and grime were found in the kitchen.

A Monash Council inspector made the discovery at the Raramen eatery in Glen Waverley, along with used drink bottles used to store sauces, meat sitting on a bench “for a couple of hours” and rice stored on the floor, plus wires and boxes that had been nibbled by rodents.

Astonishingly, the restaurant — which is still open for business — continued to be riddled with to insects and rodent poo on up to eight further council visits between March and July this year.

On July 10, Dumpling Hut Pty Ltd, the company which owns Raramen, and company director Siu Hin Yip pleaded guilty to 17 charges under the Food Act 1984 and the Food Standards Code. The charges related to inadequate pest control, unsuitable food handling, poor food storage and inadequate skills, among other issues.

Raw eggs in any menu items? Ritzy Melbourne hotel kitchen under focus in Salmonella outbreak

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Cockroach infestation, mice and multiple failed food safety inspections ard reportedly other disasters to have hit the prestigious Langham Hotel in Melbourne over a year before a massive salmonella outbreak.

The Herald Sun reports that senior chefs had regularly been summoned to meetings in January and February of last year to combat health and safety issues and improve standards.

‘The kitchen almost got shut down a couple of times,’ the source said.

‘Melbourne City Council had been in there a bunch of times and fined them. There were cockroaches, mice, and all sorts of vermin that should not have been anywhere near a kitchen.’

The information comes after a pregnant woman, who did not want to be named, told the Herald Sun how she nearly lost her unborn child after suffering food poisoning from her baby shower at a prestigious Melbourne hotel.

The angry mother said that there are still serious concerns for the health of her premature baby boy who had breathing issues when he was born.

A hotel spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia food samples had been frozen in line with hotel guidelines, which have now been provided to investigators.

‘This has never happened before and now we’re cooperating with the Department of Health and Human Services, and providing details of preparation logs and samples,’ she said.

‘As the safety and well-being of the guests and colleagues are of the highest priority, the hotel has extensive protocols in place to ensure food safety.’

Look at raw egg dishes: 44 now sick from Salmonella at fancy Melbourne hotel

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Douglas Powell

A 29-year-old expectant mother almost lost her baby after becoming seriously ill with Salmonella poisoning after a luxury high tea baby shower at the Langham Hotel in Melbourne.

A day after her July 12 baby shower at the Langham Hotel, the 29-year-old had to be taken to hospital.

Her condition deteriorated, and doctors were forced to deliver her baby five weeks premature.

“If I hadn’t gone into hospital on Monday my baby could have been dead by Tuesday,” she told the Herald Sun.

The newborn has suffered breathing problems following his traumatic birth and spent time in an oxygen chamber, and has also been receiving regular antibiotic injections.

It is hoped he will be discharged in good health in the next fortnight.

His mother has been unable to touch him while she remained ill, and contagious. She was due to be discharged from hospital last night.

“I’m really angry because it was the Langham. I didn’t have my baby shower at a back-alley Springvale kebab shop. I’ve had a baby and he is hopefully going to be fine, but this has been the worst week of my life,” she said.

The toll from the salmonella outbreak rose to 44 on Tuesday.

Samples of gourmet chicken sandwiches, mayonnaise and salads that were served to at least 77 guests at the Langham high teas were being forensically examined for a cause.

Victoria’s acting chief health officer, Professor Michael Ackland, said it could be several weeks before he was able to pinpoint the exact cause of the high tea outbreak.

“There were things like chicken sandwiches and foods with mayonnaise preparations, and various other foods you typically see in a smorgasbord setting, such as salads. (But) it is just not possible for me to point at any one food at the moment,” Prof Ackland said.

Melbourne woman Tanya LaManna was one of several members of her family who ate at the Langham on that weekend and fell ill.

She spent six days in hospital after recording a 41C temperature.

“It was quite scary, actually, very scary,” husband Greg LaManna told 3AW radio.

“We didn’t know what was going on.”

Ms LaManna is recovering at home and only started eating two days ago, he said.

The investigation will initially focus on egg, chicken and mayonnaise-containing foods – usual suspects for salmonella – on the menu that weekend.

34 sick with Salmonella: Fancy food ain’t safe food, Melbourne edition

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Six people have been hospitalized and at least another 28 struck down by a Salmonella outbreak after attending High Tea in Melbourne’s prestigious Langham Hotel.

Check the egg-based dishes.

Health authorities investigating the outbreak have so far tracked down 66 people who attended the Langham’s luxury afternoon teas on July 11 and 12 and confirmed 34 cases of Salmonella, although the numbers may rise.

The Department of Health has confirmed six of the most serious cases had to attend hospital, but details of their condition have not been released.

Victoria’s latest Salmonella scare comes amid a worrying escalation in food poisonings, with confirmed salmonellosis cases soaring by an alarming 130 per cent in the past six years, to 3,693 cases in 2014.

Already this year there have been 2,124 Salmonella notifications, though Victorians are yet to hit the most dangerous months when warmer temperatures allow the bacteria to quickly multiply.

The Langham accommodates some of Melbourne’s most high-profile guests, but it is not yet known if any prominent clients have been caught up in the food poisoning.

Heston still don’t know food safety: Fat Duck Melbourne

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Douglas Powell

A friend asked me while walking home after depositing the kids at school today, “You hear about that $525 a meal restaurant in Melbourne?”

I launched into a five-minute tirade about the food safety failings of Heston Blumenthal, ending with, that’s probably more than you wanted to know.

“Yeah, that’s OK, it’s what you do.”

Yesterday, the first diners were welcomed into The Fat Duck Melbourne, one of the world’s most anticipated restaurant openings of this year.

They were the first of just 14,000 people who will over the next six months get to experience a 4 ½ hour “gastronomic journey of history, nostalgia, emotion and memory,” as Heston describes a Fat Duck meal delivered over more than 14 courses.

And they each parted with $525 a head — before drinks — for the privilege.

First impressions were overwhelmingly positive.

“I’ve done a lot of work looking at the DNA of the Duck. What is the DNA of these experiential, narrative, contextual dishes? It’s all about memories and experiences,” Heston said.

The diners probably didn’t hear about Heston’s nasty outbreak of Norovirus that sickened 529 at the Fat Duck in the UK in 2009, which only seats some 40 people a night, so the virus was circulating between staff and patrons and back again.

A report by the UK Health Protection Agency concluded that Norovirus was probably introduced at the restaurant through contaminated shellfish, including oysters that were served raw and razor clams that may not have been appropriately handled or cooked.

Investigators identified several weaknesses in procedures at the restaurant may have contributed to ongoing transmission including: delayed response to the incident, the use of inappropriate environmental cleaning products, and staff working when ill. Up to 16 of the restaurant’s food handlers were reportedly working with Norovirus symptoms before it was voluntarily closed.

Food porn if you like, but get the basics right first.

Today (or yesterday, Feb. 3) in 1959, a plane crash near Mason City, Iowa, killed Buddy Holly, J.P. The Big Bopper Richardson and Ritchie Valens.

Buddy Holly got the basics right.

Top Melbourne Chinese restaurant fined 15K over cockroach infestation

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Douglas Powell

The operators of a top Chinese restaurant in Melbourne have been fined $15,000 after pleading guilty to multiple breaches of food hygiene laws.

City food inspectors found the Red Emperor in Southbank infested with cockroaches, mouse droppings and fruit flies when they searched the fine-dining venue on May 19 and 20 last year, Fairfax Media reports.

Uncovered cooked chickens and other food items exposed to pests, evidence of mice chewing through food bags and accumulated food waste or grease in fridge seals were among other examples of food safety breaches.

Owner Lihua Gao voluntarily shut the restaurant’s doors the day before inspectors ordered it closed because it posed an immediate risk to the public.

Melbourne Magistrates Court heard yesterday the inspection followed a complaint by a customer “about an adverse reaction” to food bought at the restaurant.

Gao, 37, the sole director of City Wall Garden Pty Ltd, the business’s registered proprietor, and Raymond Cheung, 60, the business’s food safety manager, each pleaded guilty to 10 charges.

Always the kids: ‘He turned grey’ says mother of child who fell ill after drinking raw milk

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Douglas Powell

A Melbourne mother has described how her son turned grey when he became seriously ill after drinking raw milk.

The one-year-old boy suffered kidney failure after contracting hemolytic-uremic syndrome – a serious complication of an E. coli infection.

The Melbourne baby’s mother, who spoke to Fairfax Media on the condition of anonymity, said her son developed diarrhea and vomiting, which lasted 10 days, after he had sips of her smoothies made with Mountain View Organic Bath Milk.

“He turned grey, became extremely lethargic and extremely thirsty and was he still sporadically vomiting,” she said.

By the time he reached the Royal Children’s Hospital Emergency Department in late October, his kidneys were failing.

“He had 20 per cent kidney function,” the mother said.

The baby remained in hospital for a week as doctors worked to increase his red blood cells. He is now expected to make a full recovery.

University of Melbourne food microbiology expert Said Ajlouni said he was aware some people may drink raw milk to treat serious medical conditions but warned against it, saying children and people with depressed immunity were more susceptible to infection.

The Australian Medical Association’s Andrew Miller said drinking unpasteurized milk could be fatal or lead to lifelong disabilities, multiple organ failure or brain damage.

“Because these kind of outcomes are relatively rare, people may get away with it [drinking unpasteurized milk] for a period of time, but there are reasons we have food safety laws and that’s so we don’t see children die unnecessarily,” he said.

The mother acknowledged she had been blinded by the wider trend towards raw food, but said she was not aware of the serious risks associated with raw milk.

“If I had heard of anything like this happening to anyone I wouldn’t have brought into my home – I wouldn’t have consumed it myself,” she said.

“It was a wake-up call to make sure I’m no longer blinded by the latest trends. It was a wake-up call to make sure I’m making informed decisions for my family.”

100 sick: Food poisoning outbreak at Australian dog track; maybe the mayo?

Posted on November 26, 2014 by Douglas Powell

More than 100 people have been struck down by a gastro outbreak at the Sandown Park Greyhound Racing Club in Melbourne’s south-east.

Teachers and students were among the 100 people who fell ill following a valedictory function for Wantirna Secondary College at the club’s function centre last Wednesday.

Four people, including two teachers, needed hospital treatment for dehydration.

The club was closed for commercial cleaning the following day, but more people reported suffering vomiting and diarrhoea after attending the greyhound races on Friday night.

Marissa Notley, 50, said she felt ill just hours after attending a buffet dinner at the club for greyhound racing’s Melbourne Cup.

She said she ate lasagne, rice, chicken, potato, pumpkin, caesar salad and a small serving of tortellini.

“I felt unwell on that night … I went home and had cramps in my stomach and I didn’t have much of an appetite the next day,” Ms Notley said.

“By late Saturday night I was vomiting and had diarrhoea.”

Ms Notley said six other people who sat at her table had also fallen ill.

“That fact that people got sick the Wednesday night before has angered me a little a bit more,” she said.

Department of Human Services spokesman Bram Alexander said authorities were yet to identify the cause of the outbreak.

He said the department was testing samples to determine whether the outbreak was the result of a virus, or contaminated food.

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