Tainted turkey servers appeal bid goes belly-up

A Gisborne restaurateur whose poor food safety practices caused more than 50 Christmas Day diners to fall ill has had his appeal thrown out.

In a Gisborne High Court appeal judgement released yesterday, Robin Pierson, the owner-operator of Bushmere Arms, was ordered to pay $400 in fines, along with $850 in reparation to victims and $10,414 in costs to the Crown in a case brought by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA).

Pierson had earlier appealed against his conviction on a charge of selling contaminated food under the Food Act, arguing the prosecution had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the turkey he served caused the illnesses. NZFSA, meanwhile, appealed against the inadequacy of the original sentence, which saw Pierson fined $400 but awarded no reparation to victims for their meals or costs to the Crown.

“I am pleased the court recognised the serious effect poor food handling practices can have on members of the public,” says NZFSA’s Assistant Director of Compliance and Investigation Justin Rowlands.

The court heard that on 25 December 2006, Pierson’s restaurant provided a Christmas Day buffet luncheon for about 110 diners, with a selection of ham, beef and turkey. The next day some of the diners called him complaining of illness after the luncheon. Fifty-seven reported varying degrees of stomach pain, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea.

A Health Protection Officer found the symptoms of illness described by the complainant diners were consistent with food poisoning caused by Clostridium perfringens. C. perfringens was also found in samples of the leftover turkey, and the enterotoxin form of the bacteria in faecal samples from two of the ill diners.

While C. perfringens can be found in the stools of normal people, the enterotoxin is only found in people with C. perfringens food poisoning.

NZFSA’s Assistant Director of Science and Principal Adviser of Microbiology, Dr Roger Cook, said at the trial in June 2008 that the symptoms, onset times and duration of illness were consistent with C. perfringens. The preparation, cooking, cooling and holding procedures described at the restaurant were also likely to have resulted in the bacterial foodborne illness.

Mr Rowlands says the luncheon had all the hallmarks of an outbreak in waiting.

“The turkey was inadequately thawed, cooked, and reheated. The person serving meats at the buffet also used the same knife to carve the turkey, meat and ham, raising the chance of cross contamination. Also, the restaurant did not have formal steps in place for operating safely during stressful periods.

“The fine, reparation and costs awarded reflect the consequences of such a serious breakdown in food safety practices.”