Caterers have been warned not to use raw eggs in uncooked food after a hotel at the centre of a salmonella outbreak linked to the death of a pensioner was fined £12,000.

The owners of the Hundith Hill Hotel, near Cockermouth, in Cumbria, were prosecuted following the outbreak, which happened last year.

Hotel owners Phillip and Joan Butterworth were also ordered to pay £1,550 costs after admitting breaking health and safety laws when they appeared before West Allerdale Magistrates Court.

Fifteen people fell ill after eating Sunday lunch at the hotel on 2 July. It is believed they had all eaten tiramisu.

Three people were hospitalised and 98-year-old Jessie Hewitson died, although an official cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

A spokesman from Allerdale Council, who prosecuted the hotel, said: “It has been a very sad set of circumstances and our hope now is that an important message will be sent out to the food industry.

“That message is that caterers should not use raw eggs in any food that is not to be cooked, or is only to be lightly cooked.”

Hundith Hill hotel website >>

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By Nigel Green

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