On Christmas Day 2012, 24 diners were left ill with food poisoning after being fed incorrectly cooked food. One of those diners, a 46-year-old mother, sadly passed away two days later.
Following the death, the chef and the manger of the establishment (a well known pub chain) attempted to falsify due diligence logs, relating to the cooking of the turkey meat, before health and safety inspectors could carry out their investigation.
The case has recently been concluded in court and the accused sentenced to 12 and 18 months in prison respectively. The court heard that the turkeys prepared on the day before being consumed were not cooled properly after cooking and not adequately reheated before being served to the customers.
The judge stated that the evidence revealed “systematic failings” in record keeping and that the accused were “in charge and in control of the cover-up”.
The pub chain was fined a huge £1.5million for placing unsafe food on the market. The family of the deceased said her death was “avoidable”.
In a statement, the company at fault said: “The prosecution accepted that these procedures, if they had been properly followed by those involved at the time, would have prevented this terrible event but we have nevertheless conducted a detailed assessment of our policies, procedures and training since the incident to identify any possible improvements.”
