A pipi is apparently a small, edible saltwater clam found in parts of Australia, not something newly potty-trained children scream as they run to the toilet, as in, “Mama, I’m starting to go peepee.”

The New South Wales Food Authority reports a Warilla company, Lavender Investments Pty Ltd, was convicted in the Chief Industrial Magistrate’s Court in Wollongong on 16 September 2011 for selling pipis that were found to contain an unacceptable level of Escherichia coli.

The NSW Food Authority conducted random sampling on the company’s shellfish for sale at a fish market in Sydney on 27 May 2010.

Subsequent analysis of the company’s pipi samples found that they contained Escherichia coli above the acceptable level for the food, as listed in the Food Standards Code

On 18 November 2010 the company was issued with a penalty notice for an offence under the Food Act 2003. The company elected to have the matter dealt with at Court.

The company or its representative failed to appear at the proceedings on 16 September 2011, so the Court convicted and sentenced the company in its absence. The company was convicted and fined $6,500 plus costs of $3,500.

The Court considered the company’s breaches of the Food Act 2003 to be not merely technical but namely about the protection of the public, determining that it was clear that the company failed to carry out its obligations under its license.

Shellfish such as pipis must only be bought from licensed seafood businesses.

Commercial shellfish businesses are licensed by the NSW Food Authority.

Further information on shellfish handling is available from the NSW Food Authority at www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/industry-sector-requirements/shellfish/.