Title : Authorities close Melbourne catering company linked to listeriosis death of woman in her 80s
link : Authorities close Melbourne catering company linked to listeriosis death of woman in her 80s
Authorities close Melbourne catering company linked to listeriosis death of woman in her 80s
Victorian health authorities have temporarily shut down a catering company in Melbourne's south-east after its food was linked to the listeriosis death of a woman in her 80s.
Key points:
- Testing of the kitchens by health authorities returned positive results for listeria
- The kitchen will remain closed while improvements are made and further tests are done
- Doctors are being urged to stay alert for possible listeriosis cases
The iCook Foods company in Dandenong South supplies food to Meals on Wheels, aged care facilities and a number of hospitals in Melbourne's eastern and south-eastern suburbs.
Acting chief health officer Brett Sutton ordered the closure of the company's kitchens overnight following an investigation into the death of the woman at Knox Private Hospital due to listeriosis in early February.
"My heart goes out to the family of this woman that died," Dr Sutton said.
"In the course of investigating that illness we understand that she's consumed a number of high-risk foods … but they've also been traced back, potentially, to iCook Foods."
He said there were a number of positive listeria samples collected from the company's kitchen during the investigation, and he was exercising "an abundance of precaution" through the temporary closure.
Dr Sutton said "potentially thousands" of people had been exposed to listeria-contaminated food from the kitchens, but stressed that most healthy individuals were not at risk of illness.
Closure to disrupt aged care facilities, hospitals
He said the company's kitchens would be closed for about one to two weeks while improvements to food handling processes were made and further tests were done.
"I understand that it's been deeply disruptive to Meals on Wheels, aged care facilities, and a number of private hospitals in the eastern suburbs and south-east," he said.
"But I've acted as I want to have an absolute assurance that no contaminated food would be supplied to these places, which after all have a number of vulnerable individuals who are there."
In a statement, healthcare provider Healthscope confirmed a number of its hospitals had received food deliveries from iCook Foods:
- Melbourne Private Hospital
- Knox Private Hospital
- Frankston Private Hospital
- Holmesglen Private Hospital
- North Park Private Hospital
A Healthscope spokesperson said independent living services at Ivanhoe and Clayton South were also supplied by the company and alternative catering had been arranged.
Health authorities have directed all customers to consider where and how they served supplied food from mid-January, and to throw out any remaining frozen food from the company.
About a dozen other outlets separate to private hospitals and aged care homes were customers of the company, but Dr Sutton said that food would have been heated, killing the listeria.
What is listeriosis?
- Listeriosis is a serious and sometimes fatal bacterial infection
- Symptoms can include fever, headaches, cramps, aches and pains, nausea and diarrhoea
- It can be fatal in newborns, elderly people and people with a weakened immune system
The bacteria is most dangerous in foods such as soft cheeses, hams and sliced meats and fruits such as rockmelon.
A listeria outbreak in rockmelons from a New South Wales farm killed seven people last year.
People who are elderly, pregnant or have compromised health are most at risk of developing listeriosis, which can be fatal in as many as a third of cases.
"If it's below a certain threshold then people don't become unwell, but above a certain threshold … it can cause this serious, invasive disease, septicaemia and meningitis," Dr Sutton said.
An alert has been sent out to doctors urging them to stay alert for listeriosis symptoms in patients, which can take up to 70 days to develop in pregnant women.
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