Bakeries probe after salmonella death

An investigation is under way today after two outbreaks of food poisoning claimed one life and made more than 150 people ill.

A bakery in London and another in Cheshire are at the centre of the inquiry by the Public Health Laboratory Service. Though miles apart, both firms used the same egg supplier, according to officials.

One man infected by the bug died in Cheshire at the weekend. He has not been named. One of the businesses at the centre of the scare is Madeira Patisserie, a bakery and cafÈ on the Albert Embankment in Vauxhall. Salmonella in samples is reported to have indicated a risk of cross-contamination.

The bakery appeared to be operating last night. Callers were told to send a fax to the manager and nobody else was available for comment.

In Cheshire, Chatwin's, a bakery which operates a string of shops in the county, was using unpasteurised eggs in products that were not cooked. It had now stopped this practice, said the FSA. At the firm's headquarters in Nantwich, shift manager Martin Dunn said: "All tests carried out to Food Standard Agency requirements have come back negative."

The outbreak of the rare strain of salmonella - enteritidis PT 14b - has prompted the Food Standards Agency to issue a warning to restaurants and catering firms.

Dr Roger Skinner, head of the FSA's microbiological safety division, said the sources of the outbreaks were not yet clear.

He added: "Food businesses need to remember that they should use pasteurised egg in their raw or lightly cooked products, particularly if their products may be eaten by vulnerable groups such as the elderly or pregnant women. They could be putting people at risk if they do not follow that advice."

The PHLS is analysing food samples provided by environmental health services in Cheshire and Lambeth as well as interviewing people who have fallen ill in an effort to trace the source of the infection.

If the local authorities decide there has been a breach of the Food Safety Act 1990 they can prosecute. But an FSA spokesman said: "There is no conclusive evidence yet to link the outbreak to these bakeries."