‘Corrupt’ Dandenong Council planted slug, whistleblower tells inquiry

A whistleblower has claimed that a Dandenong Council planted a slug at I Cook and later doctored photos in a targeted campaign against the business.

A whistleblower has used parliamentary privilege to claim officials at Dandenong Council placed a slug at catering company I Cook Foods.

It comes as an inquiry on Wednesday probed the closure of the company and revelations a woman who died from listeria did not eat their products.

Kim Rogerson, a former health inspector for the council, was asked about bombshell claims that council staff had placed the slug at I Cook Foods and later edited a picture to cover their tracks.

She said she saw council staff doctoring an image of the slug and they appeared to be trying to remove a piece of tissue paper next to it.

I Cook whistle blower Kim Rogerson. Picture: Mark Stewart

The council officer who reportedly found the slug was spotted with tissues sticking out of her pockets when she arrived at I Cook Foods.

“I knew that this was wrong, and illegal,” Ms Rogerson said.

During the inquiry, Liberal MP Matt Bach also asked Ms Rogerson directly whether officials at the council had planted the slug.

“Yes,” she replied.

“When I appeared in front of you last time, I was scared and, honestly, I was concerned for my safety. Only now do I feel safe to say that Dandenong Council operates under a culture of corruption and bullying.”

The council has denied these allegations. “Council vehemently denies what is alleged and looks forward to being able to refute that allegation when it presents to the parliamentary committee next week,” a spokeswoman said.

A photo shows a slug found in the iCook Foods facility in Dandenong (left) that was sent to owners, and the original photo (right) taken during a health inspection.

Ms Rogerson also said she had been concerned about the evidence given at the original inquiry in 2019.

She said she believed lies had been told and some of these had been designed to smear her name, with changes also allegedly made to her statement before she signed it.

“When I appeared in front of you last time I was scared and honestly I was concerned for my safety,” Ms Rogerson said.

“I’ve been away from the City of Greater Dandenong for over two years now, and only now do I feel safe to say that Dandenong Council operates under a culture of corruption, and bullying.”

LISTERIOSIS INFECTION IMPOSSIBLE TO TRACE

A woman whose death is at the centre of the I Cook saga could have been infected with listeriosis before coming to hospital, with a delay in launching an investigation hampering efforts to find the “real source” of the disease.

Ray Christy, a former Knox Council environmental health officer, is testifying into a parliamentary inquiry into the closure of I Cook, in a case that’s come to be known as “Slug Gate”.

The inquiry is focused on the Department of Health’s decision to shut down the food business in 2019 after a woman who died at Knox Hospital had listeriosis.

I Cook boss Ian Cook. Picture: Alex Coppel

The closure came despite a council report showing the woman had not eaten sandwiches from I Cook, with the department at the time citing a low-level listeria reading found weeks later as a factor in their decision.

Mr Christy, who wrote the council report, told the inquiry his investigation had not found any clear link between the company’s products and the woman.

He said hospital staff in 2019 had told him the woman was likely to have been on a “soft diet”, which meant meals were prepared at the hospital kitchen.

“I was certain that she was on a soft diet for the entire time because I was actually told by the infection control team head,” he said.

“She was certain in the hospital records that she was on that diet that entire time she was admitted to hospital.”

Mr Christy said it was possible the woman had contracted listeria before being admitted to hospital but that the probe had been launched too late for this to ever be known.

“A lot of gastro infections take several days to several weeks to incubate until they present as a disease,” he said.

“But we will never ever really know because of the huge time frame between the time of diagnosis and the time of investigation, so that window of opportunity was lost.

“From my opinion we’ll never, ever know the real reason why she got the infection.”

The former I Cook Foods factory Dandenong South. Picture: Google

Mr Christy also said he found the way the investigation was launched to be “unusual” because it had come with little information compared to a typical formal process.

“I found the lack of detail in the request an obstacle for a proper investigation as this information assists in acquiring the necessary evidence,” he said.

Throughout his investigation, Mr Christy was repeatedly questioned by Andrews government MPs about the small listeria sample found at I Cook and whether it was wise to shut down the business as a precaution.

But he said authorities needed to be “100 per cent” certain beyond any reasonable doubt that the business was a risk and that there was no evidence to suggest the woman had eaten one of their sandwiches.

“You’ve got to match the food product of a particular batch that the patient or the person has eaten to the actual listeria that was isolated in some other location,” he said.

“You would need to be satisfied that the actual food product that’s being served (had been consumed).

“Not some secondary evidence of you doing a swab on some food contact service you know several weeks later after the incident.”

Originally published as ‘Corrupt’ Dandenong Council planted slug, whistleblower tells inquiry