Communicable Diseases Intelligence | 2026
08 April 2026
A recent report published in Communicable Diseases Intelligence details a foodborne outbreak of Campylobacter jejuni gastroenteritis associated with a restaurant in Australia's Hunter New England district in July 2025. The investigation was launched following reports of illness in a two-year-old child and their grandmother, both of whom had attended a family event at the establishment.
Out of 26 attendees at the family event, seven cases were identified, including five laboratory-confirmed and two probable cases. Epidemiological analysis identified the pâté de canard (duck liver pâté) as the most likely source of infection. The pâté showed the strongest association with the illness, with an attack rate of 46.7% among those who consumed it. Environmental health investigations conducted by the New South Wales Food Authority (NSWFA) and public health units revealed several systemic failures in the restaurant’s food handling processes:
Temperature Inaccuracy: The restaurant did not use a calibrated thermometer to verify final cooking temperatures. Instead, staff relied on a Magimix appliance display, which was found to indicate a temperature approximately 60C higher than the actual measured core temperature of the product.
Cross-Contamination: Investigators observed raw pâté trapped under the mixer lid seal at the end of the cooking process, suggesting that raw material could easily be re-introduced into the finished, cooked product.
Production Changes: During the week of the outbreak, the restaurant’s supplier had substituted chicken livers with duck livers. Additionally, while pâté for small portions was typically sealed with a protective gelée (aspic jelly), the large batch prepared for the event was served in a stainless-steel pan without this seal.
Based on these findings, the NSWFA issued a prohibition order requiring the restaurant to immediately cease production and remove the pâté from its menu. Following this intervention, no further cases of campylobacteriosis associated with the premises were reported. The report concludes that while environmental microbiological evidence was absent due to delayed reporting, the combined epidemiological data and observed preparation flaws strongly implicate the undercooked duck liver as the source of the outbreak.
Duck and other poultry liver dishes have been frequently implicated in previous outbreaks of campylobacteriosis.
Scientific literature identifies both duck and other poultry liver preparations as known vehicles for Campylobacter transmission, often due to inadequate cooking or hygiene failures.
See: Campylobacteriosis in the UK - 2017.
Campylobacteriosis in Australia.
Campylobacteriosis at The Lowry Hotel.
