An inquest has been opened to investigate an outbreak of suspected food poisoning at a Jewish wedding which led to the death of a woman and affected 13 others, including the bridegroom and best man.
Nine cases of salmonella have been confirmed by health officials while five other people have reported being taken ill with other complaints.
All were guests at the wedding of Jennifer Harris and Stephen Wicks at the Hilton Suite in Prestwich on August 8. The bride's great-aunt, 82-year-old Rene Kwartz, from Crumpsall, died last Friday after being admitted to North Manchester General Hospital suffering from salmonella poisoning.
Mrs Kwartz's son, Jeff, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Bolton and Salford's Hope hospitals, said his mother was well before the wedding.
He said: "She was a proud grandmother of five. She was fit and well, and very active. The matter is now with my solicitors."
Twenty people have filed a group action against the outside kosher caterer, including the bride's parents, after mother of the bride Norma Harris was also ill.
The bride's father, Howard Harris, said the last three weeks had been a "nightmare" after family members began falling ill.
He said "It's absolutely ruined things. We obviously enjoyed the simchah at the time, but it's put a blight on it. We've had to contact all the wedding guests.
"The first we heard was when Norma's cousin had been in hospital for a week and had been diagnosed with salmonella."
Mr Harris added: "Stephen was ill on his honeymoon in Sicily." He said that the best man and his fiancee had also been ill, while their 80-year-old aunt and uncle had been hospitalised, along with Mrs Kwartz.
Manchester Coroner Nigel Meadows confirmed that Mrs Kwartz had died of pneumonia, contributed to by salmonella enteritis. He said he was able to arrange for Mrs Kwartz to be buried on Friday without the need for a post-mortem.
The North West Health Protection Agency said tests had confirmed that nine other people had suffered from salmonella and that four people had required hospital treatment, three of whom had since recovered and been discharged.
Dr Marko Petrovic, from the Greater Manchester Health Protection Unit, said: "Deaths from salmonella infection are rare."
The HPA also said Manchester caterer Shefa Mehadrin, which catered the event, were fully complying with their investigations and had been allowed to continue trading.
A spokesman said: "We have not identified the source of the outbreak yet, but investigations are continuing. Salmonella has not been traced to any particular batch of meat or chicken.
"It would be a big mistake to jump to conclusions around any particular food product at this stage.
"We have not found evidence of anything that would suggest an on-going risk to the public. Therefore, there are currently no grounds to suggest the caterer should not continue in
business."
Shefa Mehadrin, a well-known kosher shop in Prestwich, established itself as a caterer three and a half years ago. It had struck a deal with Prestwich Hebrew Congregation to supply meals at its Hilton Suite function hall little over a year ago.
Shefa Mehadrin released a statement saying: "We would like to offer our condolences to the family of Mrs Kwartz. An investigation led by Bury Metropolitan Council's environmental health department is currently under way, with which we are fully co-operating. Pending the outcome of this investigation, we are therefore unable to comment further at this time, other than to reassure all our customers that we always treat food safety as an issue of paramount importance". Clare Campbell, a partner at Manchester law firm Pannone LLP, who is acting for a group of 14 people, said it was a terrible tragedy, arising from what was supposed to have been a joyous occasion.
She said: "Our sympathies at this time are with the family and friends of the deceased. We will be monitoring events very closely and doing our utmost to assist all those affected." The inquest is expected to continue for two months.
