More than 160 students fell ill after eating chicken souvlaki at the University of Canterbury’s Uni Lodge Hall in November 2024, with an investigation finding the outbreak was caused by unsafe food handling practices and falsified temperature records.
The University of Canterbury Students’ Association (UCSA), which manages catering for student residences and school meal programmes, admitted responsibility and will be sentenced in December.
According to a report in state-funded media, food safety inspectors found staff failed to properly monitor cooking, cooling and hot-holding temperatures, while some temperature logs were written retrospectively rather than recorded at the time.
The outbreak was traced to pre-cooked chicken that had been stored and reheated before being served buffet-style, with laboratory testing confirming the presence of Clostridium perfringens bacteria.
Investigators also identified missing records, inadequate compliance with food safety procedures, incomplete staff training documentation, and a failure to carry out required internal audits during the year leading up to the incident.
Good thing they’re on the ball and nipped it in the bud in a timely manner.
That’s just the catering service for the beehive of Freemasons.