Dozens of diners who got salmonella poisoning after eating at a Melbourne pizza restaurant today won compensation payments in the Federal Court.
Sofia’s pizza restaurant on Burke Road in Camberwell has agreed to pay out a total of $200,000 in damages to 62 adults and 14 children who fell ill after eating there in December 2003 and January 2004. The DHS found 90 people had become ill after eating at Sofia’s.
A Department of Human Services investigation found chicken was not being cooked thoroughly enough and that there had been cross-contamination with undercooked chicken and other foods.
But lawyers have warned the payout could be the last of its kind with state and federal law reforms all but wiping out people’s ability to seek compensation for food poisoning.