I Cook slug saga could spark criminal charges

A former police chief says he expects the I Cook Foods saga will result in serious criminal charges, labelling it “one of the greatest scandals that has ever happened in Victoria”.

Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Kel Glare says the I Cook Foods saga should result in serious criminal charges.

Mr Glare, who ran the force from 1987 to 1992, said he expected prosecutions would come and he hoped there would be more answers generated by a parliamentary inquiry which will resume hearings into the matter next week.

“I feel very strongly about this. It is one of the greatest scandals that has ever happened in Victoria,” Mr Glare said.

The former chief has met with I Cook founder Ian Cook and examined evidence compiled by former Victoria Police detectives Paul Brady and Rod Porter on behalf of the company.

Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Kel Glare said he expected prosecutions would come.

He said there was clear evidence of “conspiracy and malfeasance” by public officials.

“I’d confidently expect there’d be serious criminal charges laid against a number of people,” Mr Glare said.

Victoria Police this year reopened the investigation after an earlier inquiry found there should be no charges.

Mr Glare, who runs the Community Advocacy Alliance, an organisation which scrutinises policing, said the initial investigation of the affair was inadequate.

The Boss of iCook, Ian Cook, whose company was closed after a slug was allegedly planted by a council official. Picture: Alex Coppel.

The Herald Sun revealed in March that no witnesses were interviewed over claims levelled by Mr Cook that his firm was deliberately torpedoed.

This was despite an initial police investigator finding that malice appeared to be a factor in the destruction of the Dandenong South-based company.

The Legal and Social Issues Committee inquiry will resume again this Wednesday.

The first person to give evidence will be Knox Council environmental health officer Ray Christy.

Mr Christy compiled a report after the listeria-related death of elderly woman Jean Painter in February, 2019, at Knox Private Hospital.

He found she had not eaten an I Cook sandwich.

But the company was closed by the Department of Health and Human Services within hours of it receiving the Christy report.

Mr Glare said there were serious questions about that decision and the laying of 96 charges against Mr Cook and the company based on listeria samples taken from his business.

He said those readings were at a fraction of the allowable level.

There have also been allegations a slug found in the I Cook factory kitchen was planted to help justify its closure.