It all comes out of a single large can of Argentinean corned beef. Over the next four months more than 500 people are hospitalised.
Ian MacQueen, the Medical Officer of Health, who originally planned on a career in journalism, holds twice-daily news conferences to meet the interest of the media and the public.
The Scottish Communicable Diseases Unit is set up after the outbreak which also lays the foundations for the establishment of the Food Standards Agency.