Victorian government and local council officials have been accused of meddling in an independent audit of suburban caterer I Cook Foods, which was controversially closed in 2019.
Documents submitted in a multi-million dollar civil action against the state government and Greater Dandenong Council show officials discussing the review with the auditor hired by I Cook Foods, and hatching a plan to "protect" him.
I Cook Foods is a family-owned business that was closed after health authorities linked it to the listeria death of an elderly woman at Knox Private Hospital in 2019.
The company has always argued its innocence and is now suing the state and Greater Dandenong Council for the shutdown.
In one email submitted as part of the case, the auditor, Gavin Buckett, wrote to the local council and health department about his draft audit report of I Cook Foods.
"Let me know if there is anything else I need to add, or parts I need to remove,'' Mr Buckett wrote.
In 2019, owner Ian Cook accused Dandenong council inspectors of planting a slug in his kitchen as part of a concerted effort to shut the caterer down.
The council has denied planting the slug and other allegations that it acted inappropriately.
The council was a stakeholder in rival catering firm Community Chef, and this relationship is being questioned as part of the legal action.
Auditor in regular contact with council, department inspectors
As part of an updated statement of claim in the Supreme Court, I Cook Foods accused council and Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) inspectors of interfering with an independent audit of the company.
When the business was closed in late February 2019 it was required to engage an independent auditor to review its food safety practices.
Gourmet Guardian was engaged by I Cook Foods to carry out the audit. After an inspection, the company's managing director and auditor Mr Buckett issued a report to I Cook Foods on March 8 that recommended the company "be permitted to manufacture cooked chilled foods".
He also said that additional surveillance controls must be implemented, and he gave the company one month to rectify its non-compliance with the Food Act.
Throughout the process Mr Buckett was in regular contact with Greater Dandenong Council health inspector Leanne Johnson and a DHHS official, court documents show.
Four days after telling I Cook Foods it would be OK to reopen, Mr Buckett emailed Ms Johnson and the department official about his new draft audit, saying he would issue non-compliance certificates to I Cook Foods.
Ms Johnson's handwritten notes of a conversation with the department official on March 8 show the pair discussing the "need to protect G. Bucket [sic]".
He had emailed the department official the same day to discuss the findings.
"Why does Mr Buckett need to be protected? Protected from what? From whom? What allegation?'' lawyer Michelle Sharpe, representing I Cook Foods, told the court in early March.
Five days later Mr Buckett's audit report made different findings that were worse for I Cook Foods. The second report reduced the time to rectify issues to two weeks. No recommendation to reopen was made.
In her submission, Dr Sharpe argued that the review by the health department and council inspectors was "an invalid exercise of their power or position because the Audit of Buckett, or any Approved Auditor, must be independent".
Dr Sharpe said by carrying out a review, the pair acted "maliciously" and with "the intention of keeping I Cook Foods closed irrespective of whether food produced at the ICF Food Premises was unsafe or unsuitable".
Mr Buckett declined to comment because the matter is before the court.
The health department also said "this matter is subject to ongoing legal action, and it would be inappropriate for the Department to comment".
Council denies any input into independent audit
The slippery saga has been running for more than three years. Earlier this year Victoria Police closed a second investigation into the closure without laying charges.
The end of the police probe prompted the council's chief executive John Bennie to write to staff acknowledging the stress the high-profile case had caused.
"There was no cover-up, no false information, and no misleading documentation,'' he said earlier this year.
"So, let's call this out for what it really is — a series of baseless claims centred on a nasty, hurtful conspiracy theory."
The council said its Public Health Unit did not have any input into the preparation of independent food audit reports and "did not have any input in respect of Mr Buckett's Food Safety Audit Report".
"The independent audit process is a critical part of regulating the production of safe and suitable food products in Victoria by evaluating and identifying any hazards or deficiencies and ensuring these are remedied,'' a spokeswoman said.
"This is a fundamental part of the food safety system to which all Class 1 and Class 2 food premises must adhere."
