VICTORIA’S health department could have prevented an outbreak of salmonella poisoning among people eating lettuce, as the number of suspected cases, nationally, rose to 144.
While 108 Victorian people were identified suffering from salmonella anatum, the same bacteria identified in lettuce on Wednesday, February 3, only nine cases were confirmed linked to consumption of the lettuce product, by February 10. They were joined by one confirmed case in NSW.
But there were also serious doubts about how many people identified suffering from the bacteria, could blame the lettuce from Tripod Farmers.
Victoria’s health department spokesperson, Bram Alexander, told Fairfax Media the health department also ignored a batch of Tripod Farmers lettuce identified with the bacteria on January 21.
Tripod Farmers confirmed it was notified on January 22 that a sample from a batch of product tested positive to salmonella anatum.
“There was one earlier positive test of the product detected on January 21, but the product was out of date,” Mr Alexander said.
He believed there was no need to take action, because no one would have consumed the product past its use-by date and there had been no noticeable spike in salmonella diagnoses as far as the health department was concerned.
“Lettuce has a relatively short shelf life, so that in itself did not raise the temperature,” he said.
“The temperature was raised last Wednesday (February 3), when there was a spike in cases reported.
“From food histories taken from some people and testing, there were some definite genotyping links to salmonella anatum in those people and the bacterium identified at Tripod Farmers’ processing plant.”
Since February 4, Victoria’s Health Department and Tripod Farmers’ have been working to identify where the bacterium originated.
Those tests were ongoing and encompassed the lettuce product, the processing plant at Bacchus Marsh, soil from its four farms across Victoria – Bacchus Marsh, Maffra and Mildura – and employees, many of whom were hired through the overseas’ worker program.
All bagged lettuce and baby leaf processed by Tripod Farmers was recalled, for product with a use-by date up to and including February 14.
Coles and Woolworths refused to stock product from Tripod Farmers until the ongoing investigation was completed.