The owner of a Perth restaurant has been fined AUD 40,000 after it served citronella instead of cranberry juice in June of 2024.
The incident happened at Miky’s Italian Fusion Restaurant, where two young diners, aged 11 and 12 at the time, complained their cranberry juice tasted like it had been “poisoned”.
It was later revealed that they had been served a pink-coloured citronella torch and lamp oil solution. It was claimed in court that the bartender initially tried to argue that the liquid tasted different as it was “just old cranberry juice”.
Following the incident, both customers were treated in hospital, and an investigation was launched by the Department of Health.
Perth Magistrate Donna Webb, who presided over the case, found the owner of the restaurant, Michele Angiuli, was guilty of selling food that was unsafe and failing to exercise due diligence, along with two related charges.
Magistrate Webb said that Angiuli failed to exercise due diligence and that the restaurant did not seem to be appropriately managed or compliant in a number of areas, including ensuring staff had food safety certifications.
Since June 2024, Angiuli’s lawyer stated that he has lost the business and no longer worked in the hospitality industry.
The 11- and 12-year-old customers described the aftermath as a burning stomach and a tingling sensation in their hands and fingers.
Their parents said that they also had a headache, and that it was an “awful” experience to endure.
The children’s mother made the point that if her daughters were youngerm then she would have “hated to think” what the result would have been like.
Their father said he had no idea what an appropriate punishment for an act of this kind was, but he hoped that the AUD 40,000 fine sent a message to the industry.
To date, Angiuli has declined to speak to any media about the case.
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