Update:
It is worth noting that the evidence gathered for the offence of “rendering food injurious to health” [s.7(1) FSA’90] was the cook temperature record for the pate and the epidemiological study undertaken by the Health Protection Agency – no pate was formally sampled.
A Letchworth hotel was ordered to pay over £12000 by Hertford Magistrates Court last week after pleading guilty to two charges of poor food hygiene practice. The court heard that the Letchworth Hall Hotel had served food at a wedding in September last year which led to multiple cases of food poisoning.
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In total, 49 of the 118 guests reported illness after eating the meal, all of whom had eaten a chicken liver pate starter. 22 were subsequently confirmed as suffering with Campylobacter infection including the bride and groom who both became ill while on honeymoon in Las Vegas. Symptoms of the infection include stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
North Herts District Council (NHDC) received the initial complaint on 8 September last year, five days after the wedding. Two Environmental Health Officers visited the hotel to investigate and established that the chef had cooked the chicken livers to 60 degrees Celsius, in breach of hotel policy and Food Standards Agency guidance which recommends a temperature of 75 degrees Celsius to prevent food poisoning.
The hotel owners, Letchworth Hall Hotel (Trading) Ltd, pleaded guilty to two charges on Friday 18 May at Hertford Magistrates Court. One of “undercooking” the pate rendering it unsafe for human consumption, another of failing to ensure the kitchen followed the company food safety policy and procedures, including a failure of management to uphold those procedures.
The Chairman of Hertford Magistrates stated this was “a serious matter with a significant impact on the bride and groom and their honeymoon” and fined Letchworth Hall Hotel £6300 for the first offence and £2000 for the second. The court also awarded full costs of £3870 to NHDC.
Since the incident last year, the hotel have made significant improvements to their food hygiene practices and after an inspection on 8 May they received a five star rating for food hygiene standards, the highest possible mark.
Cllr Bernard Lovewell, NHDC’s portfolio holder for housing and environmental health, said: “We are pleased that the court recognised the serious nature of these offences, but also that the hotel pleaded guilty and has subsequently taken action to ensure it gained the maximum possible rating at a recent inspection.
“It’s a shame that a failure to follow the correct procedures led to such an unpleasant time for so many people, especially the newly-weds who should have been enjoying their honeymoon at the time. I hope that others can learn from this the importance of cooking food properly.”
