Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National
Olivia Ireland

Complaints keep rising over gastro outbreak linked to Kingston eatery

Mrs Kim's Donuts in Kingston. Picture: Elesa Kurtz

The gastro outbreak linked to a Kingston doughnut shop could become Canberra's largest as reports of illness continue to rise.

ACT Health has been notified of 170 complaints of people falling ill after consuming food from Mrs Kim's Donuts.

Victims have shared their experiences of suffering vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration and abdominal pain.

ACT Health said 170 people had now reported experiencing similar symptoms after eating food from the shop purchased between November 20 and 24.

A spokesman said symptoms had generally cleared after 48 hours.

The public liability law principal from Slater and Gordon, Liam Casey, said those affected may be entitled to compensation, with victims of the alleged outbreak beginning to seek legal options.

"We have had multiple people come forward so I will be having preliminary conferences with them soon and I'm expecting a lot more over the next few weeks," Mr Casey said.

"When you have an outbreak that seems to involve this many people all seemingly making a complaint after eating at a particular establishment that evidence is reasonably compelling.

"In terms of our investigations they're going to start at this particular business and obviously we're going to be guided to some degree by the ACT Health findings, especially with what they deem to be the cause of the outbreak."

ACT Health continues to investigate this case and is actively involved with all stakeholders of the outbreak.

"As at 2pm on 2 December 2021, approximately 170 people have been identified as experiencing similar symptoms that may be attributable to purchasing food from the same business between 20 and 24 November. Symptoms have generally resolved after 48 hours," a government spokesperson said.

The number of alleged cases overtakes Copa Brazilian restaurant, where 161 were poisoned by bad aioli in 2013. An ACT Health investigation traced it back to raw eggs from a Victorian supplier and the restaurant was cleared of allegations of selling unsafe food. At the time, this was regarded as the largest salmonella outbreak in Canberra's history.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.