The wife of a British artist has launched legal action against an artisan cheesemaker after an investigation concluded listeria-contaminated cheese caused the death.Roger Parkes, a painter and chef from Chichester, West Sussex, who died in February 2023, became seriously ill days after eating cheese from a Valentine’s Day gift box purchased by his wife Carina Parkes, the Daily Telegraph reported.The cheeses are supplied by Wiltshire producer The Old Cheese Room. After Parks’ death, the company recalled a batch of Baronet Reblochon cheese after listeria contamination was discovered.An investigation held in 2024 concluded that the cheese was contaminated and unfit for consumption. Medical cause of death was recorded as multiorgan failure and listeria meningoencephalitis.Carina Parkes is currently seeking more than £200,000 in damages, accusing the company of failing to prevent contaminated products from reaching consumers.Valentine’s Day cheese boxes were delivered to the couple’s home on February 10, 2023. A week later, Parks started eating cheese and continued eating it for a few days.His condition deteriorated rapidly and an ambulance was called on 21 February. He was initially taken to St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester before being transferred to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, where doctors diagnosed a listeria infection. He died on February 27.The Old Cheese House acknowledged that the cheese Parks consumed contained listeria. However, the company disputes its responsibility for his death.His legal team argued that Parks had recently undergone major aortic surgery and faced serious health complications before becoming infected. The defense insists it has not been proven that listeria, rather than his underlying health condition, caused his death.The cheesemaker issued a Food Standards Agency recall in March 2023, stopping sales of affected batches of Baronet cheese. Two other people also became ill after consuming the product.The case will return to court for a preliminary hearing.
