Cwrt Henllys Bar and Restaurant in Cwmbran was handed the lowest possible score and told “urgent improvement” was required in food handling practices including preparation, heating and reheating.
19 confirmed cases
Torfaen Council confirmed 19 laboratory-confirmed cases of food poisoning linked to meals served at the venue on 5 October, with microbiological sampling identifying Clostridium perfringens as the cause.
Earlier reports suggested more than 50 diners had felt unwell.
According to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), C. perfringens typically occurs when cooked meat is left to cool too slowly or stored at unsafe temperatures.
The FSA notes that outbreaks often arise in large-scale catering settings where maintaining hot-holding temperatures is challenging.
The council said there was “no wider public health risk” and no further cases had been reported since the incident.
In a statement, the pub said: “There were cases of food poisoning, which has never been in doubt, and we apologise to anyone caught up in that. However, that was six weeks ago and we have had no issues before or since then.”
Changes implemented
The venue added that “technicalities” meant it could not receive an updated score until a fresh inspection had taken place, which it said was booked “imminently”.
The business also said it had implemented “positive changes” since the incident, including revising processes so food moves directly from oven to plate without a cooling period.
A statement shared by the venue on social media said it had worked closely with environmental health teams and was still “pursuing a potential supplier issue”, although no food samples taken from its kitchen had tested positive.
The outbreak affected multiple groups of diners. One party said eight of 13 guests fell ill and reported that their dog was also unwell after eating leftovers.
Torfaen Council said the investigation had now concluded and reiterated that there was no ongoing public health concern. The pub said it expected to receive an updated hygiene rating following its next inspection.
