Nineteen confirmed food poisoning cases at Cwmbran pub

There were nineteen confirmed cases of food poisoning following reports of customers feeling unwell after eating at a pub.

Torfaen Council investigated reports of customers feeling unwell after eating at the Cwrt Henllys Bar & Restaurant in Cwmbran, on 5 October.

It confirmed the cause of food poisoning was Clostridium perfringens, a bacteria which can grow while food cools down and there is no wider public risk.

In a statement posted on social media, the pub said it has made “positive changes” to its processes.

Following the council’s investigation, it said no further cases had been reported.

At the start of October, it was reported that 52 people were unwell with suspected food poisoning.

According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Clostridium perfringens is a bacteria widespread in animals and the environment.

Its spores can survive cooking and grow during cooling and unrefrigerated storage.

The FSA’s website said: “Outbreaks of C. perfringens food poisoning tend to happen in settings where large groups of people and/or food are being served and where keeping food at safe temperatures may be difficult.

“This also applies to batch cooking at home where you may leave food out to cool longer than you intended while preparing other food.”

The BBC has contacted the Cwrt Henllys Bar & Restaurant for comment, but a statement on social media from the restaurant said it was also pursuing a potential supplier issue due to a number of reported concerns of contaminated turkey but had not received a positive result on that yet.

It also said that the restaurant served approximately 200 people on 5 October, including staff.

It added they had changed processes so that there will never be a “cooling down” period.

“We have never been advised to close our kitchen and there has never been a further risk to our public,” it said.

The statement also asked anyone with a positive test result to contact the restaurant to discuss further.