By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Greater Dandenong chief executive officer John Bennie says the council’s prosecution of I Cook Foods had no link to the food eaten by a deceased hospital patient.
Recently a Knox food inspector cast doubt on whether ICF sandwiches were eaten by the hospital patient.
“No charge was laid in respect of anything that was consumed at the Knox Private Hospital.”
Mr Bennie said the 96 charges “overwhelmingly” related to food-safety “deficiencies” found by inspections by council staff, including inspector Elizabeth Garlick and co-ordinator Leanne Johnson on 18-22 February 2019.
The “deficiencies” were confirmed by Department of Health and Human Services staff – as was attested by Professor Sutton at the inquiry in 2020, Mr Bennie said.
They included cross-contamination risks from ponding of water and damaged flooring, a kitchen sink being used for washing equipment and food, as well as raw ingredients, food in preparation and cooked food crossing each other.
All 96 charges were later dropped prior to a Dandenong Magistrates’ Court hearing. The council says it was avoiding a potential $1.2 legal bill, and that ICF had achieved compliance by that time.
Public health co-ordinator Leanne Johnson said she’d seen an email from Mr Christy referring to the patient’s soft-food diet, but no elaboration as to what that meant.
She met with Mr Christy to organise a meeting with the hospital to investigate what food was sold to the hospital. That meeting didn’t go ahead.
Ms Johnson said she observed a lack of knowledge from staff and a supervisor, and a lack of response from ICF to rectify 37 “items for corrective action”.
To avoid a closure order, Ms Johnson said ICF could have undertaken an audit with experts to rectify the matters.
Ex-inspector and whistleblower Kim Rogerson took swabs and food samples from the kitchen in early February 2019.
She claimed she was pressured to lie and alter her statement to aid the prosecution.
Mr Bennie said there was “absolutely no evidence that this is true”.
“Nothing beyond a wild assertion has ever been provided by Ms Rogerson.”
Ms Johnson said Ms Rogerson’s samples, which detected listeria at safe levels, didn’t form any of the charges.
