The owners of a Nottingham kebab shop have been handed suspended prison sentences and ordered to pay compensation after an outbreak of a rare E. coli strain linked to human faeces contamination.
Mohammad Abdul Basit and Amjad Bhatti, who ran The Khyber Pass in Nottingham, pleaded guilty in August to breaching food hygiene regulations. The court heard that in June 2014, customers fell ill after consuming food contaminated with Enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), a strain found only in the human gut.
An investigation by Nottingham City Council traced the outbreak to the restaurant after analysing faecal specimens from patients. The same strain was found in lettuce prepared by food workers. Inspectors concluded that inadequate hand-washing practices led to the contamination.
At Nottingham Crown Court, each owner received a four-month suspended jail sentence and was ordered to pay £200 compensation to each victim. The breaches included selling food unfit for human consumption, poor personal cleanliness, and inadequate hand-washing facilities and drainage.
Paul Dales from the council's food safety team said it was fortunate there were no fatalities, noting this was only the second confirmed outbreak of EIEC in Europe.
