- Several guests complained of nausea, vomiting and stomach pain.
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A Michelin-starred Italian chef has been sentenced to almost three months in prison and a hefty £18,000 fine after serving norovirus-infected clams to more than 50 guests at a wedding.
Nicknamed “the freshwater chef”, Marco Sacco, 59, cooked a clam risotto at his famous restaurant Piccolo Lago di Verbania in 2021.
But shortly after the celebrations ended, several guests complained of nausea, vomiting and stomach pain, causing some to even have to be admitted to the hospital.
An Italian court has now charged Sacco and the restaurant’s manager, Raffaella Marchetti, with culpable negligence and dealing in harmful food products.
Both Sacco and Marchetti were awarded £18,000 to pay damages, including more than £6,800 for the wedding couple and more than £200 for each of the 53 guests.
Marco Sacco, 59, received a sentence of two months and 20 days after serving raw clam risotto infected with norovirus to more than 50 guests at a wedding in 2021.
The incident took place at Sacco’s luxurious Picco Lago di Verbania restaurant located in Italy.
The Michelin-starred chef was also fined £18,000 following the contamination incident.
Each of them also had to pay more than £8,500 to cover their legal fees.
In addition to the fines, Sacco and Marchetti were sentenced to prison terms of two months and 20 days with conditional suspension, according to The Rebubblica.
Following the contaminated risotto incident, the Carabinieri concluded that clams imported from France had been infected with norovirus before Sacco unknowingly served them to guests.
Norovirus is often referred to as the “winter vomiting virus.”
The clams were served raw as there was supposedly no indication on the sealed packaging prohibiting such use.
The chef allegedly defended himself by stating that he had served 3,000 similar dishes before and that no problems had ever arisen.
Sacco told Il Gusto: ‘The menu included a risotto with borage and raw clams. We buy clams that can be consumed raw, as indicated on the manufacturer’s label and as stated in the product’s technical sheet.
“They are clams that I have been using since 2015. Since I have had this supplier I have served more than three thousand dishes like this.”
After news of the infected dish made headlines in Italy, fears have been raised that many Italians will now be discouraged from ordering fresh fish dishes such as raw oysters, mussels and clams.
speaking to The timesIgles Corelli, chef who coordinates the Gambero Rosso Academy cooking school, called these foods “problematic” and said consumers will now be wary of taking the risk of eating raw dishes.
He also said that Sacco should have known better “to cook them at 64°C or 65°C so that they are purified but the flavor of the sea remains.”