Fat Duck Restaurant in Shellfish Disaster

Over 500 people who ate at Heston Blumental’s flagship restaurant suffered food poisoning. A report into the outbreak which occurred at the Fat Duck by the Health Protection Agency, a Michelin- starred restaurant in Berkshire, has indicated that source of the food poisoning was the raw shellfish served was contaminated with human sewage.

Inspectors have heavily criticised food safety standards in the kitchens. Even worse, according to the Guardian the Health Protection Agency experts concluded that the outbreak continued to affect diners for six weeks because sick staff continued to turn up to work and handle the shellfish.

This wouldn’t sound out of place on something like Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares and you would expect higher standards for a Michelin star restaurant.

Food standards have to be of a very high level in order to comply with food standards, with the intention being to ensure that situations such as this are avoided and so consumers can eat without worrying about the preparation of their food.  Of particular relevance in relation to this is the Food Safety Act 1990, section 8, which states:

(1) Any person who —

(a) sells for human consumption, or offers, exposes or advertises for sale for such consumption, or has in his possession for the purpose of such sale or of preparation for such sale; or

(b) deposits with, or consigns to, any other person for the purpose of such sale or of preparation for such sale,

any food which fails to comply with food safety requirements shall be guilty of an offence.

It seems clear that the fat duck fell well below the standards expected of it and that the diners who suffered food poisoning could have made a claim against the restaurant.