Butcher sold 'unfit food' and sparked outbreak (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Butcher sold 'unfit food' and sparked outbreak

6:30am Friday 10th April 2009 in Search By Jo Winrow

A butcher at the centre of an E. coli outbreak in Cottingley which affected 53 people has been convicted of selling food “unfit for human consumption”.

Mark Spauls, the owner of D G Spauls Butchers, admitted one charge of selling cooked meat contaminated with the virulent bug but blamed an “isolated lapse” in the shop’s strict hygiene policy. All other charges against the 38-year-old of Hall Rise, Burley-in-Wharfedale, were withdrawn, as was the prosecution of his brother Darren Spauls, who was managing the shop at the time.

The case was helped by letters of support from a number of customers which were read out to Bradford magistrates, including one from a woman who was caught up in the outbreak along with her young daughter.

Howard Shaw, for Bradford Council, who brought the case, said a link was made with cooked ham which had been sold at the shop over an eight-day period. The shop closed voluntarily and samples taken matched the exact strain of E.coli O157 in those infected, he said.

“Cooked meat must have been contaminated in the shop either by raw meat taken onto the premises or indirectly through the equipment,” he said. “This could be through poor hygiene processes – a lack of proper cleaning of equipment or cleanliness in the materials used to clean, or poor personal hygiene such as failing to wash hands after touching raw meat and then touching cooked food.”

Dominic Kay, for Spauls, pointed out that previous inspections of the shop by the Council’s environmental health department had shown the proper hygiene protocols in place. This had in fact resulted in Spauls being “downgraded” to a lower risk six months earlier – meaning repeat inspections every 18 months rather than six or 12.

“The levels found in the shop were described as so small that they weren’t initially picked up in tests. The outbreak represents nothing more than an isolated lapse probably by one individual,” said Mr Kay.

He added that Mr Spauls was not in day-to-day charge of the shop at the time, but had ultimate control, so had pleaded guilty to the charge. He also explained that Darren Spauls, 34, of Cononley Road, Keighley, no longer works there.

Chairman of the bench Margaret Carter said they accepted that the company had cleaning systems in place that were beyond that required but that the system failed on this particular occasion. She said: “We accept it was neither wilful nor intentional.”

Mark Spauls was given a conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £2,400. After the case he said in a statement that he “deeply regrets the outbreak” and it was an “isolated and unfortunate incident”.

It emerged that 72 people were tested during the outbreak and 53 of these were diagnosed as having food poisoning. Of these 40 were confirmed as E. coli cases with 31 people having bought meat from the shop.