Almost 20 confirmed cases of food poisoning have been linked to food served at a restaurant in Wales.
Results show that 19 people tested positive for Clostridium perfringens after eating at The Cwrt Henllys Bar and Restaurant in early October. Earlier media reports put the number of people sick at 52.
Patient samples revealed the food poisoning was caused by Clostridium perfringens. This bacteria develops spores which can survive cooking and grow during slow cooling and unrefrigerated storage of food.
Torfaen County Borough Council said results of microbiological sampling confirmed Clostridium perfringens as the cause but there was no wider public health risk.
Restaurant’s response
In a statement posted on Facebook, the restaurant said: “Whilst these results bring some closure to us and our patrons we are still left with questions which we likely won’t ever have answers for. We are currently pursuing a potential supplier issue as there has been a number of reported concerns of contaminated turkey. We have not had a positive result come back from food product which was taken from our kitchen and tested.
“We’ve made positive changes to ensure that moving forwards there will never be a cooling down period because your food will go from oven to plate straight away but it’s also important to note that we don’t have actual physical evidence of us being responsible. We have never been advised to close our kitchen and there has never been a further risk to our public.”
Meat products such as stews or casseroles, and on carveries are the most common sources of illness from Clostridium perfringens. Most outbreaks come from food whose temperature is poorly controlled.
People generally experience symptoms of infection 6 to 24 hours after consuming the bacteria or toxins. Clostridium perfringens toxins cause abdominal pain and stomach cramps, followed by diarrhea. Illness usually lasts around 24 hours and is rarely fatal.
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