Another Fancy, Deadly Eatery Survives a Slap on Wrist

The restaurant world was shocked when British chef Heston Blumenthal inadvertently poisoned over 500 diners at his Michelin three-star Fat Duck back in January. In fact, it wasn't until this week that the cause was determined to be sewage-infested oysters and clams. The restaurant's punishment? It closed voluntarily for three weeks in early '09.

Today, a court case was settled for a 2007 incident that saw Sydney's award-winning Table Restaurant accidentally kill an old man with deadly asparagus sauce that had a secret ingredient of "bacteria spores at 10 times the toxic level." Manslaughter charges aside (there wasn't enough evidence for criminal charges), the maximum fine under the Food Standards Act is $275K. But the restaurant's punishment for actually killing someone? Just $19K.
· Tables Restaurant find $19,000 for deadly asparagus [Daily Telegraph]