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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-03-10 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

SALMONELLA OUTBREAK

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (15:19): Today, the minister stated, and I will paraphrase: if you want to raise an issue you have to name the source. I certainly raised the issue of his delay in notifying the South Australian public of an outbreak of salmonella poisoning amongst the population. What I am very concerned about is the way that whole investigation has been handled; the way the companies involved (Vili's and St George) have been named as the culprits. The way this whole investigation has been handled is a disgrace. I will quote from the whole epidemiology of what has been going on, the whole sorry saga of the way this has been handled by this government's health department.

On Tuesday 1 February, SA Health contacted Vili's Bakery stating that they believe Vili's to be the source of an outbreak of salmonella. On 4 February, they let Vili's know that all the initial swab tests had come back negative for salmonella. They retested again on 8 February and all the results came back negative for salmonella.

What did they do? They spoke to Vili's and said that they were going to put out a press statement about this incident. That was on 4 February, and in that press statement, not only did they notify the South Australian public of an outbreak of salmonella, they said that SA Health's investigation had associated Vili's custard-filled Berliners and St George Cakes and Gelati with the salmonella infection. They had associated them with it.

Let me just read from an email I received this morning from a very well-credentialled epidemiologist who has worked all over the world:

Epidemiology only gives you associations, and doesn't prove causality, so the next step is to try and prove that the products and the premises are contaminated.

I will read that again:

Epidemiology only gives you associations, and doesn't prove causality, so the next step is to try and prove that the products and the premises are contaminated.

Every test at Vili's Bakery has come back negative and I will read some of those tests here. The swabs are done by Medvet, a world and NATA accredited laboratory. Vili's cakes at Mile End: door handle, salmonella not detected; custard cooking bowl, salmonella not detected; custard cooking bowl vent, salmonella not detected.

I could keep going through the 28 or 30 tests here. In every one of them, salmonella was not detected. In independent testing by Vili's through their own laboratories, salmonella was not detected. I will read again that epidemiology only proves an association, it does not prove causality, 'so the next step is to try and prove that the products and the premises are contaminated'. That has not been proven by this government in this case.

Sure, the government should alert the populace that there is an incidence of salmonella poisoning, but to then go out and try to name and shame companies like St George and Vili's—Vili's employs 300 people, is exporting all over the world, has AQIS accreditation—is a disgrace. The way this has been handled is a disgrace.

The fact that the officers of the public health department talk to Vili's and try to explain what is going on, and Vili's has the understanding that they will get back to them before any more media statements are made, does not work. It does not happen. What happens is the health department goes out and makes more pronouncements, more associations, more press statements and they keep the implication out there that there is an ongoing issue at Vili's. There was never an ongoing issue at Vili's and if anybody in this place wants to go—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Dr McFETRIDGE: —and look at—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Croydon!

Dr McFETRIDGE: —the epidemiology of the spread of infections, the spread of reports, then they will see that there is a point source of an epidemic of salmonella outbreak in South Australia, but it has never, ever been proven where the source of that outbreak is. It is very important that this government does not keep handling this issue this way. The association with extremely good industries in South Australia, and discrediting them the way it has, is a disgrace.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Dr McFETRIDGE: Even just recently, the last press release that came out on 25 February announced 10 more salmonella outbreaks. I understand that not one of them had eaten a bakery product but they are still perpetuating this impression out there that it is a result of Vili's and St George bakeries. It has never been shown and the government needs to go back and look at its epidemiology. I have forgotten more epidemiology than this minister has ever known—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for Croydon!

Dr McFETRIDGE: —but he wants to go back and talk to the people who know what they are talking about and talk to world experts on how you do this and do it properly.

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