iCook Foods investigation was ‘abnormal’, health worker says

A former health worker has revealed the “abnormal’’ way a probe into iCook Foods was handled, claiming it initially did not involve paperwork.

iCook Foods boss Ian Cook. Picture: Alex Coppel

A former council health officer whose report was ignored and then buried by the state government as it shut down iCook Foods told police he was bullied in the wake of the “slug-gate” scandal becoming public.

The Herald Sun can reveal Knox Council environmental health officer (EHO) Ray Christy has made a three-page statement to Victoria Police about the “abnormal’’ way a probe into an elderly woman’s death at Knox Private Hospital in 2019 was handled by the Department of Health and Human Services, which he says initially involved “no paperwork’’.

Mr Christy was told to inspect the hospital and its food regimen following the death of patient Jean Painter after listeria was found in her system.

His report to DHHS shed serious doubt Ms Painter consumed a sandwich supplied by iCook Foods, which was blamed for the woman dying of listeria.

Mr Christy’s assessment found the 86-year-old was on a “soft diet’’ and was being served in-house hospital kitchen food.

iCook Foods in Dandenong South, which was shut down by the state government. Picture: Google

In his statement to police, Mr Christy states it was the first time in his career he had been requested to probe a listeria outbreak by the Food Safety Unit, which he says usually comes via the Communicable Diseases Unit (CDU).

“For the first time in my career as an EHO the request came from the Food Safety Unit at DHHS (in) Lonsdale Street,’’ Mr Christy states.

“On this occasion there was no paperwork. On this occasion it was a telephone call …’’

He also states his instructions were to:

• Confirm the hospital/kitchen receive ready-to-eat meals from iCook Foods;

• Detail the type of food iCook supplied and how it was presented to the hospital/kitchen; and

• Note how the food was “processed, handled, plated and delivered”.

Mr Christy states that “things got interesting’’ when he spoke to the hospital’s catering services manager, only named as Bernie.

He says he was told the patient had gastro symptoms and was placed on a “soft diet’’ which was “prepared and made up’’ in the hospital’s own kitchen.

“Bernie said it was unlikely she got any ICF meals because she was on a ‘special diet’,” he said.

Records of the food consumed were routinely discarded after it was served, he states.

Mr Christy states his instructions from DHHS did not include taking food samples or conducting swabbing at the hospital for analysis.

Further, he states that he was told to email his report to Paul Goldsmith, who is a senior food safety science officer at the department.

“At the time the request was abnormal to the way I have been investigating for the last 5 years,’’ he states.

Mr Christy says the FSU told him there were “gaps’’ in his report and to return to the hospital to further investigate.

But he said after revisiting the site “there were no red flags from the second visit either’’.

Mr Christy says he was contacted by iCook Foods boss Ian Cook about 12 months after his business was given a closure order by the government.

He says Mr Cook asked for his email exchanges, but that he did not provide them.

“I told him I had nothing to suggest that the patient even ate his food and I recommended he FOI (Freedom of Information) request my reports,’’ Mr Christy said.

Mr Christy said he had been asked by police if he, in hindsight, believed “anything dodgy’’ was going on with the investigation.

“I think that because it was clear to me that she (the patient) had not consumed any food supplied by ICF, based on my investigation and what I informed DHHS of, I believe that there was no evidence that justified the closure based on listeria poisoning or the prosecution that followed over the listeria,’’ he states.

A photo (left) showing a slug found at iCook Foods that was sent to owners, compared to the original photo (right) taken during a health inspection.

iCook Foods and its owner Ian Cook faced 96 charges laid by Greater Dandenong City Council until the case was suddenly dropped in October 2019.

Mr Christy, 52, who alleges he has been bullied and micromanaged following the iCook investigation, has since resigned.

“The bullying and harassment has been inexplicable as I have never been subject to any allegations requiring this micromanaging,’’ he states.

“The bullying and harassment only started after the iCook Foods publicity started to get very apparent in the media.”

Mr Christy’s report to the DHHS did not surface until last week despite documents being subpoenaed during the prosecution and subsequent FOI requests.

Mr Cook has launched legal action over the temporary closure order slapped on his company, which ruined his business and left 41 people jobless.

The Department of Health said it would be “inappropriate” to comment while the matters were being investigated by Victoria Police.