A.P.P.S
Post by trubble on Sept 10, 2009 15:38:28 GMT
Fat Duck: sewage-infested oysters to blame for illness says official report
Those blumen Essex Oysters.
Still - it's not putting anyone off apparently. Last month : His snail porridge may not be everyone's taste but Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck has won over the Good Food Guide critics who have awarded his restaurant a perfect ten score. It beat Gordon Ramsay's eponymously named Chelsea establishment, which was the only place in the country to score nine out of 10.
menu
(complimentary norovirus)
£eeeeeek.
Heston Blumenthal: bad oysters to blame for The Fat Duck food poisoning.
Sewage-infested oysters and poor hygiene led to more than 500 diners falling ill at Heston Blumenthal's restaurant, The Fat Duck, an in-depth report has concluded.
Britain's health watchdog, the Health Protection Agency has published a 47-page report into the problems at the Fat Duck in Berkshire, England, which caused the restaurant to be closed for nearly three weeks earlier this year.
The incident was a severe blow for Blumenthal, heralded as one of the world's best chefs, and one of only three restaurateurs in Britain to hold three Michelin stars. At the time he said the closure cost him about £300,000 (€343,000).
A total of 529 customers reported to have fallen ill, suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea, after eating at The Fat Duck.
When it reopened in March the Health authorities gave the restaurant a clean bill of health, blaming a number member of staff with the norovirus illness as the most likely cause of the food poisoning.
However, it now says that this was just one of the problems, with shellfish as the main other reason. Raw oysters had become infected with norovirus – known as the "winter vomiting disease" – because they had been contaminated with raw sewage.
The Health Agency said it had traced the oysters back to a supplier in Essex, which was linked "potentially" with three further norovirus outbreaks. Subsequent testing of the oyster beds – relatively shallow water where the oysters grow over a period of four years or so – discovered that the oysters were infected with norovirus.
The most likely cause, the Agency said, was raw sewage originating from the inhabitants of Essex, an area that had suffered a high level of norovirus, had infected the oysters.
Cooked razor clams were another cause of the illness, and the Fat Duck was criticised for its cleaning methods of shellfish, saying it used cleaning products that were too weak.
It also criticised Blumenthal and his team for waiting between the first complaint from a diner and closing the kitchens. "The delayed notification of this outbreak . . . resulted in a greater number of diners being exposed and becoming infected with norovirus than would have occurred if effective investigation and intervention had started earlier," it said.
A spokesperson for the Fat Duck said: “We are glad that the report has finally been published and draws a conclusion to the closure of The Fat Duck and more importantly that the norovirus has been identified as the cause and not due to any lapse in our strict food preparation processes.
"The restaurant has been open as normal since 12th March and I would like to reassure our guests that they can continue to visit us with total confidence.”
The problems at the Fat Duck have failed to damage Blumenthal's reputation with food critics. Last month the Good Food Guide awarded the highest possible accolade to the chef, giving him ten points out of ten for the second year in a row. He is the only chef in Britain to enjoy such a high rating.
© Telegraph.co.uk
Sewage-infested oysters and poor hygiene led to more than 500 diners falling ill at Heston Blumenthal's restaurant, The Fat Duck, an in-depth report has concluded.
Britain's health watchdog, the Health Protection Agency has published a 47-page report into the problems at the Fat Duck in Berkshire, England, which caused the restaurant to be closed for nearly three weeks earlier this year.
The incident was a severe blow for Blumenthal, heralded as one of the world's best chefs, and one of only three restaurateurs in Britain to hold three Michelin stars. At the time he said the closure cost him about £300,000 (€343,000).
A total of 529 customers reported to have fallen ill, suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea, after eating at The Fat Duck.
When it reopened in March the Health authorities gave the restaurant a clean bill of health, blaming a number member of staff with the norovirus illness as the most likely cause of the food poisoning.
However, it now says that this was just one of the problems, with shellfish as the main other reason. Raw oysters had become infected with norovirus – known as the "winter vomiting disease" – because they had been contaminated with raw sewage.
The Health Agency said it had traced the oysters back to a supplier in Essex, which was linked "potentially" with three further norovirus outbreaks. Subsequent testing of the oyster beds – relatively shallow water where the oysters grow over a period of four years or so – discovered that the oysters were infected with norovirus.
The most likely cause, the Agency said, was raw sewage originating from the inhabitants of Essex, an area that had suffered a high level of norovirus, had infected the oysters.
Cooked razor clams were another cause of the illness, and the Fat Duck was criticised for its cleaning methods of shellfish, saying it used cleaning products that were too weak.
It also criticised Blumenthal and his team for waiting between the first complaint from a diner and closing the kitchens. "The delayed notification of this outbreak . . . resulted in a greater number of diners being exposed and becoming infected with norovirus than would have occurred if effective investigation and intervention had started earlier," it said.
A spokesperson for the Fat Duck said: “We are glad that the report has finally been published and draws a conclusion to the closure of The Fat Duck and more importantly that the norovirus has been identified as the cause and not due to any lapse in our strict food preparation processes.
"The restaurant has been open as normal since 12th March and I would like to reassure our guests that they can continue to visit us with total confidence.”
The problems at the Fat Duck have failed to damage Blumenthal's reputation with food critics. Last month the Good Food Guide awarded the highest possible accolade to the chef, giving him ten points out of ten for the second year in a row. He is the only chef in Britain to enjoy such a high rating.
© Telegraph.co.uk
Those blumen Essex Oysters.
Still - it's not putting anyone off apparently. Last month : His snail porridge may not be everyone's taste but Heston Blumenthal's Fat Duck has won over the Good Food Guide critics who have awarded his restaurant a perfect ten score. It beat Gordon Ramsay's eponymously named Chelsea establishment, which was the only place in the country to score nine out of 10.
menu
(complimentary norovirus)£eeeeeek.
S C 
