A company that supplied meat to Tauranga Hospital has been fined $130,000 for selling listeria-contaminated meat to hospitals throughout the country.
At sentencing in the Napier District Court yesterday, Judge Bridget Mackintosh fined meat processing company Bay Cuisine $130,000, while director Garth Wise was fined $32,500 and employee Christopher Mackie fined $30,000.
The Hawke's Bay District Health Board found ready-to-eat meats supplied by the company were contaminated in July 2012, after a number of listeria cases had been linked to the hospital kitchen.
The outbreak resulted in the death of Patricia Hutchinson, 68, in June 2012, and also contributed to the death of an 81-year-old woman.
A Tauranga company, Bay Cuisine, has no links to the Napier-based company.