The widow of an artist who died after eating a listeria-contaminated cheese is suing its award-winning manufacturer.
Painter Roger Parkes, from West Sussex, died within days after enjoying a Valentine’s Day gift of cheese in February 2023.
The 69-year-old had been nibbling at a block of Baronet Reblochon made by the Wiltshire-based The Old Cheese Room over several days after being given it by his wife, Carina Parkes, before becoming unwell.
Now Mrs Parkes has taken the artisan cheese maker to court for over £200,000 after the fatal ordeal, with her lawyers claiming that her husband would have lived had it not been for the listeria infection linked to the cheese.
An ambulance was called for the seriously ill artist on February 21, and he was diagnosed with listeria on February 23.
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He fought for his life, but died on February 27 despite treatment.
His cause of death was multiorgan failure and listeria meningitis, according to an inquest held in 2024, which also found that the cheese carried listeria bacteria, likely because of the manufacturing process.
The inquest found that the cheese was unfit for human consumption.
The Old Cheese Room, run by artisan maker Julianna Sedli and Karim Niazy, has admitted that the cheese had become contaminated, but the firm has denied it was responsible for the death.
Lawyers for The Old Cheese Room insist that Mr Parkes’ death resulted from his existing aortic condition and surgery in the months before, not the listeria infection.
A batch of Baronet cheese was recalled with an alert through the Food Standards Agency the following month after Mr Parkes’ death.
Reports emerged that two other people had become ill as well.
Baronet Reblochon semi-soft cheese is described having rich and creamy taste with a washed rind.
It is made using Jersey cow’s milk and matured at cellar temperature and by washing the cheeses by hand.
Mrs Parkes described her husband as a ‘truly beautiful man, with depth, compassion and boundless creativity.’
What is listeria?
The bacteria listeria monocytogenes causes the potentially deadly illness called listeriosis.
While the illness can pass without symptoms for healthy adults, it can lead to serious and invasive conditions like meningitis or sepsis for people with underlying health conditions or weakened immune systems.
Pregnant women and unborn babies are also at risk as listeriosis can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth.
Listeria is more common in ready-to-eat cold foods, including pre-cooked and deli meats, pâté , smoked and cured fish, including sushi, soft mould-ripened cheese, raw milk and pre-cut fruit like melon slices, according to the Food Standards Agency.
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