Chin Chin owners prosecuted for food poisoning
by Leon Gettler
The owners of Chin Chin Chinese restaurant in the suburb of Springwood in Logan City Queensland have been hit with steep fines over a food poisoning outbreak that affected more than 100 customers last year.
They fell ill after eating at the family restaurant and many were taken to hospital. Many of them had fallen violently ill.
Mr Jing Wen Zheng and Ms Soc Kien Taing pleaded guilty last week in the Beenleigh Magistrates Court to three charges each of selling unsafe food to patrons in on 3, 4 and 5 January 2015.
The pair were fined $60,000 in total for the offences.
They were also ordered to pay $41,914 in total for costs of laboratory analyses and $1000 in total for professional costs.
After the complaints last year, Logan City Council had slapped a temporary closure order on the restaurant. The owners put a sign on the door saying “Closed for maintenance until further notice.”
The Logan City Council subsequently cancelled the food business licence for Chin Chin Chinese Restaurant.
Patrons had together lodged nine formal complaints with the Metro South Health Service.
Metro South Health interviewed 200 people who had dined there and tests subsequently confirmed traces of bacteria detected at the restaurant. Raw eggs are suspected to have caused the contamination.
Chin Chin had received many positive reviews on sites such as Urban Spoon and TripAdvisor.
But after diners were taken ill, its own Facebook site was attacked by people who had fallen ill and were threatening legal action.
Metro South Public Health Unit environmental health manager, Mr Greg Shillig spelled out the problems that had led to the food poisonings.
“The sale of this unsafe food caused laboratory-confirmed Salmonellosis in 100 of the 138 individuals who were ill, with the same molecular strain found not only in the food, but also on cleaning cloths, food preparation surfaces and other surfaces throughout the kitchen,” Mr Shillig told the Logan Reporter.
“This indicated significant cross contamination because of poor handling and hygiene standards.”
4th April 2016
