Tag Archives: sydney

KFC ordered to pay $8 million for poisoning; will appeal

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KFC has been ordered to pay $8 million damages by a judge who found a young Sydney girl was left severely brain damaged after eating a Twister chicken wrap.

AAP reports the family of Monika Samaan (right) successfully sued the fast food giant, claiming the source of her salmonella poisoning was a Twister.

Her father told the NSW Supreme Court he bought the wrap on October 24, 2005, at the KFC outlet at Villawood, in Sydney’s west.

While Monika, her parents and her brother ended up in hospital with salmonella poisoning, the then seven-year-old was left severely brain damaged and is effectively now a quadriplegic.

On Friday, Justice Stephen Rothman ordered KFC to pay $8 million damages plus legal costs.

Last Friday, he found KFC had breached its duty of care to the young girl.
KFC has indicated it will appeal his finding.

In a statement, the family’s lawyer George Vlahakis said, "The compensation ordered is very much needed. KFC have to date been determined that Monika does not receive a cent."

Sydney family’s daughter stricken with Salmonella wins court case against KFC

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A Sydney father who claimed his daughter was left severely brain damaged from salmonella poisoning after eating a KFC ‘Twister’ has won a court battle against the fast-food chain.

The family of Monika Samaan brought a multimillion-dollar compensation bid against KFC in the NSW Supreme Court, claiming the then seven-year-old became ill after eating the chicken wrap in Sydney’s west in 2005.

KFC denied the claim but on Friday afternoon Justice Stephen Rothman found in favor of the family in the NSW Supreme Court.

KFC has vowed to appeal the ruling.

In a statement, the restaurant said the case was clearly tragic but they were "deeply disappointed and surprised" by Judge Rothman’s decision.

"We believe the evidence showed KFC did not cause this tragedy and, after reviewing the judgment and seeking further advice from our lawyers, we have decided to appeal Justice Rothman’s decision," KFC Australia’s chief corporate affairs officer Sally Glover said.

"We feel deeply for Monika and the Samaan family, however, we also have a responsibility to defend KFC’s reputation as a provider of safe, high-quality food."

During a four-week trial in 2010, Monika’s father Amanwial Samaan told the court he and his wife Hanna, son Abanou and Monika all fell ill with vomiting and diarrhea after sharing the Twister.

Monika, who was in a coma for six months and in hospital for seven, is effectively now a quadriplegic and severely brain damaged.

She took the NSW Supreme Court action through her father.

KFC’s lawyer, Ian Barker QC, argued there "never was a shared Twister" because there was no sales data to prove the family purchased it.

"You did not tell anyone at the hospital, when you were there between October 27 and 29, that you had shared a KFC Twister that Monday," Mr Barker said in the NSW Supreme Court in July 2010.

"Because there was no direct question at me," Mr Samaan replied.

He also accused Mr Samaan of thinking KFC "might be an easy target."

But the family’s barrister, Anthony Bartley SC, presented evidence about KFC food practices that were "disturbing and unsettling."

"If the store was particularly busy, then even if chicken dropped on the floor… it was on some occasions simply put back into the burger station from where it had fallen," he said.

He told the court Monika, who had been a bright girl, could now feed herself to a limited extent but wears a nappy and goes to a special school.

KFC said it would not comment further on the matter as it is now on appeal.

Shakespeare in Sydney cancelled due to a lot of barf

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It’s not often the New South Wales Food Authority is mentioned along with Shakespeare.

But the health types have been brought in after the Opening Night performance of Bell Shakespeare’s Macbeth was cancelled due to severe illness amongst the company.

Bell have been forced to recategorise the performance on Wednesday 4 April as a preview performance for family and friends after cast members Dan Spielman (Macbeth), Ivan Donato (Macduff) and Robert Jago (Malcolm) as well as Assistant Director John Kachoyan all contracted severe food poisoning. Two of the group had to be admitted to hospital as a result of their illness, with the other two members bed-ridden for several days.

Other opening night guests will be contacted and moved to another performance next week, with the season set to commence as planned on Thursday 5 April.

The downgrading of the show’s Opening Night follows the cancellation of the first three previews of the production, that had been scheduled for Friday 30 March, Saturday 31 March and Sunday 1 April.

Bell Shakespeare General Manager, Christopher Tooher said in a statement that “the condition of the four affected Company members is being constantly monitored. All are now showing significant signs of improvement and we aim to go ahead with a preview tomorrow night, with a second preview now scheduled for Wednesday 4 April.

"We are currently working with the NSW Food Authority regarding the source of the food poisoning."

Australian state hammers raw milk huckster

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Sydney’s Bondi Beach is a lovely, groovy place.

But not so groovy for raw milk hucksters, as a man was found guilty of 43 charges relating to breaches of the Food Act and fined $53,000 for various offences relating to the sale of unpasteurised milk and unpasteurised dairy products.

The products were manufactured at the defendant’s Bondi Junction residence and sold over the Internet and at an organic food market in Sydney’s Bondi Junction.

Additional offences include the sale of other goods including chocolate, pumpkin seeds and cranberries that were labelled with health claims in contravention of the Food Standards Code.

Primary Industries minister Steve Whan said the court found that the defendant "in a display of deceptive and deceitful conduct, sold unpasteurised dairy products that were deliberately mislabelled and camouflaged as cosmetic products when the intention was they be used for human consumption."

"There is sound scientific evidence pointing to the risks associated with consuming raw milk. To ensure that cow’s milk and cow’s milk products sold in New South Wales are safe they go through the NSW Food Authority’s stringent food safety management programs, which includes pasteurisation."

Mr Whan said the issue of the sale of unpasteurised milk products in NSW was a divisive one amongst the some sectors of the dairy industry and advocate groups, but the NSW Government “made no apologies for giving paramount consideration to the public interest and the need to protect public health.”

In sentencing, Chief Industrial Magistrate GJT Hart said the evidence provided suggested the defendant had no scientific, medical or other qualification or expertise in the field.

"The Defendant appears to have a propensity for adopting, and then advocating with vigour, the teachings of the unqualified, whilst preferring to ignore the available literature produced by people with relevant scientific qualifications.”
 

Sydney bakery closed after salmonella sickens 120, 22 hospitalized

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ABC News reports an outbreak of salmonella linked to a bakery in Sydney’s west is being investigated by the State Government’s public health unit.

Almost 120 people have sought help, suffering from gastroenteritis after eating takeaway food from a bakery at Bankstown.

Twenty-two of those have been admitted to hospital for treatment.

The bakery has now been closed until further noticed.

Why not name the bakery so previous inspections can be checked on the government’s name-and-shame website?
 

Sydney inspectors to swab kitchens in foodservice crackdown

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Sydney restaurants and cafes will be subjected to random swabs of their kitchens and cooking equipment to test for the presence of bacteria under a new program to begin next year.

As part of new enhanced program to be conducted by the City of Sydney council, health inspectors will take samples for testing from food preparation areas including from chopping boards, bench tops and dish clothes as part of their routine inspections.

The swabs will be tested for Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria — two forms of bacteria which can contribute to food poisoning and illness.

City of Sydney chief executive officer Monica Barone told Hospitality magazine the sampling program reflects the high expectations of the million city workers, visitors and residents who rely on cafes, restaurants and sandwich shops every day, adding,

“As a global city and Australia’s leading culinary destination, people expect a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene at the restaurants and cafes where we all eat. … These sampling measures go above and beyond mandatory legislative requirements and provide customers with added reassurance that the kitchen surfaces used for the preparation of food are being monitored.”

The enhanced measures are part of the City of Sydney’s thorough inspection program of the 3,000 Central Sydney and inner city restaurants, cafes and food premises. Barone said not all premises will be tested, but random samples may be taken at anytime.

Premises found to have elevated levels will be re-inspected and staff given advice and training on hygiene practices. Premises found to continually return elevated readings may be issued with warning notices and fines – which are published on the NSW Food Authority’s website.

Dominos fined $120K over cockroaches, bad hygiene in Sydney

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ABC News reports a Dominos pizza shop in Sydney’s west has been described as having committed one of the worst breaches of food safety and hygiene in the Australian state of New South Wales.

The store in Quakers Hill has been fined almost $120,000 after investigations by the state’s Food Authority, following reports from customers who suffered food poisoning.

Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan says conditions inside the store were appalling, stating,

"They had evidence of significant infestation of cockroaches and also very poor hygiene of cleanliness habits. I’m told by our experts at the Food Authority that they’re a prime candidate for spreading foodborne illnesses and that’s why they’ve been given such a big fine. There are always people who don’t do the right thing unfortunately and we need to make sure that we can protect people from foodborne illnesses. Things like food poisoning are not insignificant. There are people every year who die of food poisoning and food-related diseases."
 

Fancy food does not mean safe food, Sydney edition

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Sydney’s wealthiest area, Mosman, ranked among the riskiest places to eat in New South Wales according to the Food Authority’s annual report card, obtained by The Sun-Herald.

Overall, cafes, restaurants and takeaway shops in NSW received more than 2000 fines for hygiene offences over the past year.

Although NSW has established Australia’s toughest hygiene compliance regime, one-fifth of the state’s 20,000 registered food sellers continue to put the health of their customers at risk.

The NSW, shows food sellers failed more than 13,000 random inspections. That represents 26.3 per cent of the 50,005 inspections carried out in the 12 months to June 30, with some premises inspected three times or more.

More than 8000 warning letters were sent to restaurants and cafes by 153 local authorities. Improvement notices were sent to 1399 businesses and 2049 penalty notices issued.

The number of court prosecutions more than halved from 48 to 22 in 2009-10.

There are now nearly 1800 businesses on the state government’s ”name and shame” list.

Mosman – where the average annual income is $131,606 – ranks among the poorest for food hygiene.

Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan said he was pleased that fewer businesses had required re-inspection in the past year. The purpose of the report was ”so we can be alerted to where the problems lie and fix them’.’

A ”scores-on-doors” scheme, revealed by The Sun-Herald in April, is being trialled in 20 council areas until Christmas. Participating restaurants display a simple A, B or C rating. It is hoped the prospect of a poor rating will drive owners to maintain high standards of cleanliness.

Sydney store fined over sushi

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The NSW Food Authority has added the sushi bar at upmarket retailer David Jones, located in its famous food hall on Market Street, Sydney, to its Name and Shame list for not keeping food at the required temperature (that’s model Miranda Kerr, right, shopping at the store).

"Prawn and salmon sushi with cooked rice was found to be in the temperature range of 11.8C to 24.5C, Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan said in a statement on Saturday.

"The required temperature for retail display is 5C or less, unless a business has in place a system to ensure product is displayed for no more than four hours without refrigeration."

The department store was fined $660 fine for the breach.

Other food outlets added to the NSW Food Authority’s Name and Shame register in the past month include Koh-Ya Yakiniku Japanese restaurant, in Neutral Bay.

The restaurant was fined $660 for storing raw meat on dirty wet towels directly above ready-to-eat food.

Rodents, roaches and rubbish in Sydney restaurants

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Rodent droppings, cockroaches and a build-up of rubbish has led four central Sydney (that’s in Australia) restaurants to be prosecuted, fined, and named and shamed on a government register designed to prompt businesses to clean up their act.

The New South Wales Food Authority publishes lists of food outlets that have breached or are alleged to have breached state food safety laws.

NSW Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan said in a statement some of the offences included "unpalatable acts" such as food, waste and grease build-up, and the failure to eradicate and prevent pests.

In some cases, live cockroaches, rodent droppings, smears and hairs were observed throughout the premises.