Shellfish Blamed For Norovirus Outbreak At Fat Duck
The New York Times says the Fat Duck restaurant is one of the world's best, so it must be true. We thought it might be interesting to read the British Health Protection Agency's report on last winter's Norovirus outbreak that made 529 duck diners sick. In part it says:
The investigation was conducted by the HPA and Environmental Health Officers from the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Berkshire East Primary Care Trust was also involved. The final report has been delayed due to the swine flu pandemic which required priority response from the Health Protection Agency.
Investigations focused on laboratory testing of diners with symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting (where possible); analysis of detailed questionnaires sent to others who reported similar illness; investigation of illness among staff; examination of the restaurant environment and food processing, handling and supply; laboratory testing of food samples.
Putting together findings from all these parts of the investigation, the main conclusions were that:
- There was a large outbreak of food poisoning among diners at the Fat Duck Restaurant in January and February 2009, with more than 500 reporting illness - over 15 percent of those dining there during this period
- The organism responsible was norovirus which was probably introduced via shellfish (more diners who ate shellfish dishes reported illness). Oysters were served raw; razor clams may not have been appropriately handled or cooked; tracing of shellfish to source showed evidence of contamination and there have been reports of illness in other establishments associated with oysters from the same source
- The outbreak continued for at least six weeks (between January 6 and February 22) because of ongoing transmission at the restaurant - which may have occurred through continuous contamination of foods prepared in the restaurant or by person-to-person spread between staff and diners or a mixture of both
- Several weaknesses in procedures at the restaurant may have contributed to ongoing transmission including: delayed response to the incident; staff working when they should have been off sick and using the wrong environmental cleaning products
- Delays in notification of illness may have affected the ability of the investigation to identify the exact reason for the norovirus contamination.
The Fat Duck told the New York Times it knew of no employee who worked while sick.
