A GUARD found the pubic hairs of an inmate in his chocolate pudding during a shift at the Townsville prison last week.
Pudding: maybe more than it seems.
The officer had sat down to eat the dessert last Saturday night when he made the gruesome discovery.
And worse was to come when inmates confessed that food cooked for officers often contained saliva and urine.
The pudding also had been served on plates on which inmates regularly rubbed their genitals.
Up to 160 prison officers yesterday began legal action against Corrective Services over the food contamination.
Prison officers at the jail told The Courier-Mail their subsequent inquiries with inmates revealed they had been engaged in this style of food preparation for some time.
It is standard practice and part of rehabilitation for trusted inmates, who are supervised by trade instructors, to cook food for officers.
The use of inmates instead of professional cooks reduced costs for Corrective Services, officers said.
The three inmates cooking last Saturday night have been "sacked" from kitchen duties.
Officers said guards avoided taking their own food into jails for fear of being accused of smuggling contraband in their lunch boxes.
Angry officers held a meeting outside Townsville Correctional Centre last night.
Officers told The Courier-Mail if the department did not provide them with blood tests for communicable disease they would pay for their own.
The Queensland Prison Officers Association said the department should provide blood and medical tests for prison staff. Spokesman Brian Newman said there also should be stricter supervision of inmates preparing food for staff.
"Officers should be placed with trade instructors during preparation and cooking.
"At least two officers have taken sick leave for fear over what they have been exposed to and consumed," he said.
"They are physically ill at the thought of what has been done to their food."
Detectives from the Corrective Services Intelligence Unit are investigating the allegations of food contamination. Authorities would not comment on whether the pubic hairs would be cross-matched with Queensland's DNA database, which includes samples from the state's prisoners.
Inmates found to have contributed to the contamination could be charged with assault.
The QPOA yesterday enlisted the services of Brisbane law firm Shine Roche McGowan to take legal action against Corrective Services over the food contamination.
Solicitor Simon Morrison said the firm was acting on behalf of officers affected by this "disgraceful incident".
A Corrective Services Commission spokeswoman said the department was trying to investigate a matter where the evidence was no longer in existence.
"There is no tangible evidence and all remaining food has been destroyed by officers who claimed it had been interfered with," she said.
The spokeswoman said the department had not received any notification of legal action.
