UPDATE:
The Bottle of Milk will re-open its doors on Friday after closing to a salmonella outbreak that affected 200 customers.
The restaurant issued the following statement: “Three weeks ago we closed the doors at the Bottle of Milk in Torquay due to a serious outbreak that caused some of our customers to fall ill. We worked closely with the Department of Health to isolate the cause of the outbreak and are now relieved that we have answers.
“The Department of Health has confirmed that the cause of the outbreak was linked to one of our suppliers .… we sympathise with them as they determine their next steps.
“Our primary concern has always been for the health of our customers and we thank them all for their understanding during this terrible time. We understand that everyone who was affected by illness during this time has made a full recovery and are incredibly grateful for that.
“We have taken the opportunity to conduct an extensive review of our business operations and analyse every step of our supply chain and what we can do to improve the dining experience for our customers.
“We have just completed a renovation, opening up our kitchen so that it is always on display, and made supply changes to now serve pasteurised egg mayonnaise as opposed to making our mayonnaise on site.
“The support that we have received from our customers and the local community has been overwhelming. Thank you.
“We look forward to welcoming you back to the Bottle of Milk when we reopen our doors this Friday.”
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DODGY eggs were behind a food poisoning outbreak at Torquay’s Bottle of Milk restaurant, according to Victoria’s chief health officer.
Dr Rosemary Lester said the gastro attack was due to salmonella in raw-egg products made at the restaurant with supplies from Great Western farm Geen Eggs.
The outbreak stuck down at least 220 Bottle of Milk customers last month, shutting the Bell St restaurant indefinitely.
Department of Environment and Primary Industries has restricted Green Eggs’ sales until the farm carries out additional cleaning and hygiene measures.
“Food and drinks containing raw and undercooked eggs, including mayonnaise, aioli, eggnog and tiramisu have been associated in the past with salmonella outbreaks in Victoria,” Dr Lester said.
“These foods can be a risk, especially for the elderly and people with lowered immunity, children and pregnant women.”
Dr Lester said thoroughly cooking eggs rendered them safe from contaminants such as salmonella.
“Green Eggs are marketed in distinctive packaging and people who have bought the product from their supermarket in recent weeks and still have eggs in their fridge should only use them for cooked dishes and foods,” she said.
“Restaurants wishing to prepare raw egg dishes or dressings should source those eggs from another source until such time as we are satisfied that the changes at the farm have been successfully implemented.”
Dr Lester recommended cooking eggs until hot all the way through to kill any bacteria.
“As a general food safety measure, people should check eggs are clean and have no visible cracks before they buy them,” she said.
“You should refrigerate your eggs at home, preferably in the original carton so you know the best-before date. If you find a dirty or cracked egg, throw it out.
“Washing eggs at home is not recommended as it makes it easier for bacteria to penetrate the shell.”
