A Stellenbosch restaurant has successfully overturned a court ruling that held it responsible after a customer swallowed a needle-like object hidden in a hamburger, with judges finding that negligence had not been proven, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Beyerskloof Wine Bar challenged a May 2025 judgment that found it liable for the injuries suffered by Maxine Williams, who became seriously ill after encountering the foreign object while eating at the restaurant in October 2020.
A full bench of the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town overturned that decision, finding that the trial judge had incorrectly applied a legal principle when deciding the case.
The judgment highlights an important distinction in South African law: although restaurants are expected to serve safe food, the presence of a foreign object does not automatically establish that a restaurant was negligent.
The incident dates back to 3 October 2020, when Williams visited Beyerskloof Wine Bar with her husband for dinner.
While eating a hamburger, she experienced severe pain in her throat and began coughing. She later noticed blood in the basin when she went to the restroom.
Concerned about her condition, she sought emergency medical attention at Stellenbosch Mediclinic, where X-rays revealed a thin, needle-like object lodged in her throat.
Williams remained in hospital for five days before the object passed naturally.
She subsequently took legal action against the restaurant, arguing that it had failed in its responsibility to provide food that was safe to eat.
In May 2025, the trial court ruled in her favour, setting the stage for a legal battle over how responsibility should be established when a foreign object is found in a meal.
At the centre of the appeal was a legal principle known as res ipsa loquitur, a Latin phrase meaning “the thing speaks for itself”.
The trial judge applied the principle on the basis that the presence of the needle-like object was enough to shift the burden onto the restaurant to demonstrate that it had not acted carelessly.
However, the appeal court found that this approach was incorrect.
Justice P.S. Van Zyl, sitting with judges A. Le Grange and D. Kusevitsky, ruled that Williams was required to establish that the restaurant had been negligent.
The court’s decision meant that the restaurant could not be held responsible simply because the food contained a foreign object. The evidence needed to establish a failure to exercise reasonable care was also important.
In considering the appeal, the judges examined the restaurant’s food preparation practices and the evidence presented about its suppliers.
Beyerskloof Wine Bar bought pre-spiced burger patties from an established butchery that had been operating since the 1960s.
The restaurant also used plastic brushes rather than metal wire brushes to clean its grills, and there was no record of a similar incident occurring before.
Another difficulty was identifying where the object had originated. Williams could not establish whether it had come from the burger bun, patty or garnish.
Without knowing how the needle-like object entered the meal, the court found that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the restaurant had been careless.
The judges also considered what could reasonably be expected of a restaurant owner. They found that businesses could not be expected to anticipate every possible hidden defect in ingredients supplied to them.
Requiring restaurants to take extraordinary precautions, such as X-raying every ingredient or scanning every prepared meal with metal detectors, would go beyond what could reasonably be expected.
The ruling reinforces an important principle for South African food businesses: serving safe food is essential, but legal responsibility depends on the circumstances and the evidence.
The court confirmed that South African law does not automatically impose liability on food sellers whenever a product is found to be defective.
The appeal court ultimately overturned the original ruling against Beyerskloof Wine Bar, finding that negligence had not been established.
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