A Brisbane restaurant that gave 29 people food poisoning, including an elite athlete who had to be hospitalised for three days, has been fined $37,000.
Two dodgy batches of mayonnaise were made by the head chef at the South Bank Surf Club in 2015, with Brisbane Magistrates Court hearing they were contaminated with salmonella likely transferred from eggshells.
Lawyers for the restaurant on Thursday entered guilty pleas to 22 charges of serving unsafe food over eight days.
The charges did not arise from unhygienic practices and the company had no knowledge the food was unsafe, the court heard.
Western Australian hockey player Kelli Reilly had snacked on buffalo wings with aioli sauce with her team at the restaurant the day before they were due to play in the final of a masters competition in Brisbane.
They won gold at the tournament but soon after, Ms Reilly was hospitalised for three days and still suffers from the salmonella poisoning.
She has not been able to play hockey since and has sworn off aioli.
"I've been through a lot, I'd probably not like to comment on it all because it has impacted me a lot and my family," she said outside court.
"I would not wish this on anybody."
Following the outbreak, the restaurant was closed for about three weeks while it was thoroughly cleaned and inspected by health authorities.
It's estimated the restaurant lost about $85,000 in income during that period.
One of the restaurant's four directors, Bevan Bickle, was in court and apologised to Reilly after the sentence.
"He's a very nice man, he has been impacted greatly," Reilly said.
"We had a good chat and it was very nice to meet him."
There was no offer of compensation, she said.
Reilly said she was hopeful she would recuperate fully.
"It upsets your gut health quite chronically," she said.
No conviction was recorded against the company, which was also ordered to pay $2500 in legal costs.
- AAP