Catering sector news

Heston Blumenthal criticises Health Protection Agency

1/10/2009
Heston Blumenthal has criticised the Health Protection Agency for how it handled the food-poisoning outbreak at his three-Michelin-starred restaurant, the Fat Duck. He called on the Agency to provide more support to the industry.

The Health Protection Agency released a report on its investigation into the norovirus outbreak at the Fat Duck, which affected more than 500 diners. It said the official cause was contaminated shellfish and also cited 'several weaknesses in procedures' at the restaurant including staff working when they should have been off sick and a slow response to the incident.

Blumenthal said that he, his insurers and his legal experts were given no time to analyse the report before it was released to the public. "There is a real lack of support to restaurants from the Health Protection Agency when it comes to handling something like a norovirus outbreak and it is only because of the status of the Fat Duck that we survived this.."

Blumenthal added that both his own team of experts and those of his insurer's have said that there were flaws in the report, including its criticism of the restaurant's staff sickness policy and its use of anti-bacterial cleaning agents. He recently issued an official apology to the victims of the outbreak and invited each one of them to re-visit the Fat Duck as his guest.