Popular acai cafe at the centre of an alleged food poisoning debacle with ’45 people falling ill’ reopens
A popular acai cafe has been given the green light to reopen after 45 customers reportedly fell ill with food poisoning.
Blue Lemon Acai in Wahroonga, on Sydney’s North Shore, was forced to close on September 20 when health authorities were issued a prohibition order.
The NSW Food Authority received several complaints from people claiming they suffered symptoms of food poisoning after eating acai-based desserts at the cafe.
That ban order was lifted at 8pm on Friday evening, and business was expected to return to normal on Saturday.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development said they had carried out another inspection of the company on Friday, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Samples taken from the store by authorities had clearly returned, although NSW Health continues to analyze other clinical samples to find the source of the reported outbreak.
About 45 people are said to have suffered food poisoning, three of whom went to hospital.
The cafe’s owners said at the time that they were treating the complaints seriously.
Blue Lemon Acai in Wahroonga, on Sydney’s North Shore, was forced to close on September 20 when health authorities were issued a prohibition order
“We have been operating in Wahroonga for ten years and are proud to offer our friends and local community the healthy products we make with love every day,” they said in a statement.
‘We are devastated by the news of people becoming ill and have fully investigated the situation, including our suppliers.’
The owners had said they were aware of about 16 complaints, although some appeared to come from fake accounts.
NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty said the government had been made aware of 45 reports of suspected food poisoning.
“In the interests of public safety, my department, through the NSW Food Authority, has issued a ban on Wahroonga-based company Blue Lemon Acai,” Ms Moriarty said in a statement.
‘(This) follows a large number of customer complaints of foodborne illness symptoms after consuming acai-based frozen desserts.
“The order has been issued to reduce further public health impacts and will close the facility until further notice.”
Acai is made from powdered acai berries native to Brazil and mixed with frozen fruits, often banana and blueberries, to form a desert similar to ice cream.
Acai is made from berries native to Brazil, which are mixed in powder form with frozen fruit to make a desert-like ice cream, but ‘healthier’ (stock image)