Urgent recall issued on popular Irish dinners from SuperValu & Centra over presence of potentially fatal bacteria

The Irish Sun

2 days ago

AN URGENT warning has been issued to Irish shoppers after three popular dinners were pulled off the shelves in stores over health fears.
The
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The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has issued an urgent recall on popular dinner meals
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
The affected batches of turkey and ham dinners sold at
It's hazardous for those with weak immune systems,
The affected products are:
Central Turkey & Ham Dinner
SuperValu Turkey & Ham Dinner
Good Food Locally Sourced Turkey & Ham Dinner
READ MORE ON PRODUCT RECALLS
It is currently unknown how many affected products were sold.
The spokesperson stated that all implicated ready meals in all pack sizes with the approval number 4008 are affected by the recall.
The implicated products were also removed from the shelves to prevent further sales, and the
The FSAI requested SuperValu and Centra to contact the affected customers and recall the implicated ready meals.
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Customers are encouraged not to eat the affected ready meals and to dispose of them or return them to the point-of-sale.
If healthy customers have consumed the contaminated food with the
Urgent health alert as GP shares ways to combat illness with simple everyday task
However, if immunocompromised and elderly individuals contracted the infection from contaminated food, it can spread to the central nervous system, causing meningitis and/or septicaemia.
It comes with such
Infected pregnant women may have no symptoms or experience only a mild flu-like illness. Still, infection during pregnancy can lead to premature labour, meningitis in the newborn or even miscarriage.
How to protect myself from listeriosis?
Protecting yourself against the fatal bacteria is vital, especially for pregnant women, infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.
There are several measures issued by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre that can significantly reduce the risk of contracting the infection:
Keep foods for as short a time as possible and follow storage instructions including 'use by' and 'eat by' dates
Cook food thoroughly, especially meat, ensuring that it is cooked through to the middle
Keep uncooked meats separate from vegetables and from cooked and ready-to-eat foods
Wash salads, fruit and raw vegetables thoroughly before eating, or peel if appropriate
Wash hands, knives, and cutting boards after contact with uncooked food
Make sure that the refrigerator is working correctly
When heating food in a microwave, follow heating and standing times recommended by the manufacturer
Throw away leftover reheated food. Cooked food which is not eaten immediately should be cooled as rapidly as possible and then stored in the refrigerator
Pregnant women, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems should avoid eating high-risk foods such as:
raw (unpasteurised) milk or foods made from raw milk,
soft or mould-ripened cheeses (e.g. feta, Brie, Camembert, blue-veined cheeses),
pâté and
smoked salmon.
If contact with ewes at lambing time is unavoidable for pregnant women, the elderly, or people with weakened immune systems, washing hands after handling animals should reduce any possibility of infection.
The infection can be diagnosed by culture of blood or cerebrospinal fluid, and for pregnant women, this can be done through a
The first symptoms appear after consuming the affected batch during the first three weeks but can range between 3 and 70 days.
If a woman eats contaminated food during pregnancy, the infection can be passed across the placenta to the baby.
TREATMENT
If contracted, the dangerous bacteria can be treated with antibiotics, but even with treatment, infection can be severe and may result in death.
Listeria monocytogenes is widespread in the environment and can be found in soil and water.
Vegetables can become contaminated from the soil or manure used as fertiliser.
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The Ballymaguire Foods may contain the presence of Listeria monocytogenes