Betta Maid’s bakery at Unanderra was temporarily shut yesterday, with the company applying for and passing a re-inspection related to a salmonella outbreak in local aged care centres.
The Illawarra Mercury reports that the NSW Food Authority issued a prohibition order against Betta Maid, which the company said related to a gap in the site’s roller door and potential access by pests.
‘‘We are really proud of our operation and proud to be in the Illawarra where we have serviced the community for pushing 30years and never had a food safety incident,’’ the company’s food safety officer Anthony Peart told the Illawarra Mercury. He said the issue had been fixed and operations resumed on the same day.
The inspection was part of the NSW Food Authority’s investigations into suppliers of aged care service providers IRT.
There have been two deaths from an outbreak of an “unusual strain” of salmonella in the Illawarra, reported The Canberra Times earlier this week. There were 26 cases of salmonella poisoning in NSW and the ACT identified by NSW Health.
Betta Maid supplies meat pies, potato pies, sausage rolls and other baked goods to IRT.
Peart said these were fully baked and reheated at aged care facilities, and need to be cooked twice.
“The likelihood of Betta Maid products being the source of the outbreak are very remote,” he said.
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