THE owner of a Ballarat pizza shop that was closed down after a salmonella outbreak has appealed to his customers for support as health authorities continue investigations.
Rizzo’s in Eureka Street was open for business last night after The Courier broke the story of widespread food poisoning over Christmas.
The outlet can today be named after the Victorian Health Department officially released details of the pizzeria yesterday afternoon while praising the shop’s owner for his co-operation.
The owner, who declined to be named, said he and his staff were shocked by the incident, with the number of confirmed and possible salmonella cases officially lifted to 19.
Investigations are continuing into whether the death of an elderly man on December 30 is connected to the outbreak.
Additionally, the actual number of sick people may be higher, with at least one customer saying that she, her husband and a friend became unwell but their doctor did not recommend blood tests.
Acting chief health officer Rosemary Lester said her department was now investigating a regional egg supplier.
Dr Lester said the outbreak appeared not to have been a result of poor hygiene or cleanliness at the shop.
“This is something that can happen to anyone if eggs are not carefully selected, cooked or handled,” she said.
Dr Lester said the incident may have occurred because of an increased thickness of the pizza crust and topping, which contained egg, without the required increase in oven temperature.
She said the quality of eggs supplied to the shop was under investigation.
Rizzo’s owner said he was hopeful the business, which has been running 21 years, would continue to trade.
“We were all shocked ... we didn’t know how it happened or why,” he said.
“We have done everything the Health Department has asked of us, we’ve changed our procedures, we changed our egg supplier and we have done whatever they said.
“The shop is back open. They asked us to close and we did. They asked us to do a major cleaning and we did, and we have undertaken regular cleaning procedures.
“I want our customers to support us because we’ve been open for 21 years and this has never happened before.”
The owner said he had purchased the business seven months ago and had worked as a pizza delivery driver before that.
The shop was closed by the Health Department for almost a week last month, only the second closure ordered by the department in Victoria for 2011.
Customer Matthew Campbell, 27, said he became violently ill for 14 days after eating a pizza from the shop on December 19.
He said he lost eight kilograms and sought medical attention at the Ballarat Base Hospital on Christmas Day.
“It was the sickest I have ever been,” Mr Campbell said.
Another customer, who declined to be named, said she, her husband and a friend all became ill after eating at the shop. Their doctor did not undertake a blood test or stool sample.
“I understand it may not be the fault of the shop but I wouldn’t go back there,” the woman said.
A Health Department spokesman said a general alert was not issued because of the specific nature of the salmonella.
“The shop was closed down as soon as we pinpointed the problem,” the spokesman said.
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