A company that provided listeria-contaminated chicken to the airline Virgin Blue, sickening 29 passengers and causing two premature births in 2009, has received the largest fine of its type in New South Wales.
Directors of GMI Food Wholesalers pleaded guilty to 26 charges relating to the production, handling 
and sale of unsafe food.
They were fined $236,000 plus legal costs, in the Downing Centre Local Court. Details of the case will be published on the NSW Food Authority’s website today.
In Aug. 2009, two pregnant women in Australia gave birth prematurely and seven others were confirmed sick with listeriosis after eating contaminated chicken wraps that were sold to thousands on Virgin Blue flights from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, triggering a national public health alert.
From the outset, Virgin Blue has blamed suppliers.
On Friday, one of those pregnant women, Renee Cherry, launched legal action in the Supreme Court on behalf of her son Zayd Fokeera, now aged almost two, seeking 
compensation from Virgin Australia.
According to a statement of claim, a pregnant Ms Cherry flew from Townsville to Brisbane, then from Brisbane to Melbourne, on May 23, 2009.
During the flight, it is claimed, Ms Cherry bought a chicken roll from flight attendants, and she suffered listeria poisoning as a result.
"The roll was tainted and not fit for human consumption, as it contained listeria bacteria," according to the statement of claim.
"The listeria bacteria poisoned the blood of the plaintiff’s mother and the plaintiff and caused him to suffer injury."
Zayd was born two months after the flight, suffering from listeriosis, gastro-intestinal injury, developmental delay, and anxiety.
There is a claim for medical expenses and loss of prospective income and earning capacity, as well as damages. A trial before a judge and jury is sought.
A Virgin spokesman said the writ had not been served on the airline, and it could not comment because it had not seen the details of the claim.
The corporate geniuses at Virgin Blue airlines must be delighted that the listeria-laden chicken served on Virgin Blue flights that sickened seven and caused two premature births has been linked to Wollongong-based company GMI Food Wholesalers.
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But Virgin Blue served the food – they are responsible.
"It appears the likely source of the contamination was an ingredient supplied to the manufacturers of the wraps and not Virgin Blue or other companies who received the affected products. Virgin Blue has removed the product from service at the end of June."
Brisbane-based solicitor Mark O’Connor stated what any company should know: Virgin Blue served the food, Virgin Blue is responsible.
"The airline in turn would have to make a claim against the supplier of the food but for passengers, it’s the airline that is liable.”
Virgin Blue should check on its suppliers rather than trying to cover their ass with (bad) PR.
Our friends are pregnant and recently returned from Australia; I hope they didn’t fly Virgin Blue.
The Australian reports tomorrow morning that two pregnant women gave birth prematurely after eating contaminated chicken wraps that were sold in their thousands on Virgin Blue flights from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, triggering a national public health alert.
The airline confirmed yesterday that up to 5000 flights in May and June could have carried the snacks laced with potentially deadly listeria bacteria.
Five Queenslanders are known to have contracted listeriosis food poisoning after consuming the wraps, including the two women who gave birth prematurely, a known complication of the illness.
Both women and their babies survived.
The Brisbane Times reported yesterday that Queensland Health has confirmed nine cases of listeriosis so far this year, compared to 56 cases nationally. Last year, 12 cases were recorded for the whole of 2008 in Queensland, compared to 68 nationally.
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Virgin Blue today in a statement an outside contractor may have been to blame, adding,
"It appears the likely source of the contamination was an ingredient supplied to the manufacturers of the wraps and not Virgin Blue or other companies who received the affected products. Virgin Blue has removed the product from service at the end of June."
Brisbane-based solicitor Mark O’Connor stated what any company should know: Virgin Blue served the food, Virgin Blue is responsible.
"The airline in turn would have to make a claim against the supplier of the food but for passengers, it’s the airline that is liable.”
Virgin Blue should check on its suppliers rather than trying to cover their ass with (bad) PR.
Officials at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita are getting rid of blue sno-cones after a mix-up involving commercial degreaser.
Four people became ill Thursday when a zoo employee poured a degreasing agent into the sno-cone machine instead of flavored syrup.
The two bottles are the same size, shape and color and accidentally got stocked next to each other. A zoo spokeswoman said the employee didn’t read the labels and apologized to families who got sick.
For years, stories have circulated about the outrageous demands rock stars – even Celine Dion – make for their backstage accommodations as part of concert contracts or riders.
Most famously, Van Halen included in the rider for its 1982 world tour that absolutely no brown M&Ms be found backstage (the band insists this was not rock star excess, but an easy way to check if concert promoters completely read the riders and paid attention to important things like the stage and lighting).
The satirical rockumentary Spinal Tap contains a scene where Nigel complains about the backstage food and the little pieces of bread (below). They also insist on blue M&Ms only.
Fox News is reporting that an Atlanta woman took a bite of a blue peanut M&M and discovered what a local biologist says is a vertebra from a small mammal.
Potts is not currently pursuing a lawsuit against Mars, the global giant that owns M&Ms, but the issue kept gnawing at her, so on Tuesday she said she took the object to Professor Larry Blumer, director of environmental studies in the biology department of Morehouse College in Atlanta, for an examination.
"It’s definitely bone, and it came from some type of mammal," Blumer told FOXNews.com. "This isn’t [a] tail vertebra — it’s something higher up, and the reason I’m certain for that is because it’s hollow. The nerve cord would run through there."
On Wednesday upon learning of the incident, Mars issued a statement noting that food and product quality is of "paramount importance to Mars."