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Extra.ie
5 days ago
- Health
- Extra.ie
FSAI expands listeria recall to over 200 foods following outbreak
The list of foods to avoid because of the danger of listeria lurking in them, has grown to over 200 known products this afternoon. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has published the new extended list of suspect foods, on their website, after listeriosis was found to be present in a number of products which originated at the Ballymaguire Foods Plant in Dublin. The ready meals are sold across a number of supermarkets including Tesco, Centra and Supervalu and have been withdrawn from shelves due to the contamination. Pic: Getty Images Listeria can enter the food chain from contaminated water, through the soil, or by animal contact during agricultural practices on farms and can also contaminate other foods and spread to and survive on surfaces. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland confirmed one person has died as a result of listeria poisoning and has confirmed another nine cases of the illness this week. Adjunct Professor at the UCD Institute of Food and Healthy, Alan Reilly spoke to presenter Philip Boucher Hayes on RTE Radio 1 this morning, and said Listeria causes two types of illnesses, a 'non-invasive' kind, 'you could nearly call it routine food poisoning,' he said, and the other is an 'invasive' kind, and this invasive type is 'the real killer'. Pic: Getty Images The former CEO of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland went on to say that listeria can survive at 'freezing temperatures,' following a precautionary recall notice over 'ready-to-heat' meals after an outbreak of the infection. Professor Reilly explained that victims of listeria poisoning can develop septicemia, as the virus invades a lot of organs, and meningitis is also a possibility, but the virus is also especially dangerous for expectant mothers, as it can cause 'spontaneous abortion' Pic: Getty Images The FSAI have said that a National Outbreak Control Team is investigating what they described as an extensive outbreak of listeria linked to a precautionary food recall of ready-to-heat meals. Products from Tesco Finest, The Happy Pear, SuperValu Signature Taste, and Centra Freshly Prepared are among a range of more than 200 affected ready meals included in the recall. Consumers are being advised to check their freezers for any of these products and dispose of them.
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Health
- RTÉ News
Listeria can survive at 'freezing temperatures'
The former CEO of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland has said that listeria can survive at "freezing temperatures," following a precautionary recall notice over ready-to-heat meals after an outbreak of the infection. Adjunct Professor at UCD Institute of Food and Health Alan Reilly, said listeria monocytogenes is "unique in that it can survive at low temperatures... even freezing temperatures". Therefore, he said for the list of foods subject to the recall, "that rely on chilled storage for fairly long periods, listeria monocytogenes would be the number one pathogenic bug that you have to look out for". An adult died with a confirmed case of listeria infection, the FSAI confirmed yesterday. The FSAI said that it had Listeria can enter the food chain from contaminated water, through soil, through animal contact during agricultural practices and can contaminate foods and spread to surfaces. Following this it can spread through contaminated equipment or the hands of food handlers into the processed environment. Professor Reilly said listeriosis is a "bacterium," but some "listeria monocytogenes, they are pathogenic, and they are "probably one of the most serious forms of food-borne illness you can get". Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Philip Boucher Hayes, he said it causes two types of illnesses, a "non-invasive" kind, "you could nearly call it routine food poisoning," and the other is an "invasive" kind, and this invasive type is "the real killer". "You get things like septicemia, blood poisoning, it invades a lot of organs and so meningitis, it can cause spontaneous abortion in pregnant women. "And that form is the real killer," he said. However, he added that there is "not a lot" of listeriosis in the food chain. In 2024, there were less than one case per 100,000 people in the EU, compared with 46 cases per 100,000 people of campylobacter and 18 cases per 100,000 of salmonellosis, he said. A lot of work is done to keep listeriosis out of the food chain, Prof Reilly said. It would "probably " enter a food processing plant on "raw materials" such as vegetable matter, uncooked meats and "establishes itself" in the food processing environment, such as on a "biofilm" on a conveyor belt, where listeria will survive, he said. He said one outbreak in Canada some 17 years ago, which generated 55 cases, from which there were 22 fatalities, was tracked down to a meat slicer, which then contaminated deli meats and led to "one of the most serious outbreaks". "After that outbreak, in 2008, the world woke up to listeria monocytogenes", he said. Symptoms of listeria The FSAI said a National Outbreak Control Team is investigating an extensive outbreak of listeria linked to a precautionary food recall of ready-to-heat meals. Products from Tesco Finest, The Happy Pear, SuperValu Signature Taste, and Centra Freshly Prepared are among a range of more than 200 affected ready meals included in the recall. Consumers are being advised to check their freezers for the implicated products and dispose of them. Speaking about listeria, Deputy Medical Director of the Irish College of GPs Dr Suzanne Kelly said those who should be concerned about the disease are pregnant women, small babies, older people and the immunocompromised. She said that for the vast majority of healthy adults, this isn't going to cause a major problem as there is a lot of exposure to listeria, but it clears easily in people day to day. She said symptoms of listeria would be having a temperature, feeling achy, experiencing nausea or diarrhea. She added that the first thing to do if you have symptoms is to schedule an appointment with your GP for an assessment but tests for listeria have to be done in a hospital setting. She said that she has never seen it as a GP in 20 years but it's most worried about for pregnant women who are at high risk of having a miscarriage, or passing the disease onto their baby. "We rarely ever see it," she said, adding that the disease must be detected through a blood test, or through spinal fluid.
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Health
- RTÉ News
Adult dies with listeriosis as FSAI investigate extensive outbreak
An adult has died with a confirmed case of the bacterial infection listeriosis, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has confirmed. The FSAI said a National Outbreak Control Team is investigating an extensive outbreak of listeriosis linked to a precautionary food recall of ready-to-heat meals. It said nine confirmed cases of listeriosis had been identified as of yesterday. The HSE's Health Protection Surveillance Centre is investigating the death and to ensure medical confidentiality no further information on the person who died can be disclosed. This follows a food safety recall of ready meals by the FSAI due to fears of the harmful bacteria Listeria monocytogenes. Products from Tesco Finest, The Happy Pear, SuperValu Signature Taste, and Centra Freshly Prepared are among a range of ready meals included in the recall. The various branded prepared meals and side dishes are produced by Ballymaguire Foods and are sold in most major supermarkets - including Aldi, Centra, SuperValu, and Tesco - and are branded under the names of its customers. The affected products include pre-made meals such as cottage pie, chicken curry, lasagna, as well as various vegetarian dishes. While the side dishes covered by the recall include mashed potato, potato gratin, green cabbage, and mashed turnip. Aldi's Specially Selected range is also among the affected products. Consumers are advised not to eat any of the more than 140 affected products. Consumers are also advised to check their freezers for the implicated products and dispose of them. In a statement to RTÉ News, Ballymaguire Foods said it initiated a "full precautionary recall of all products produced at one of our facilities following the identification of listeria bacteria as part of a quality control check". The company apologised to customers and said that "incidents of this nature are extremely rare for us" and that it is "treating it with the utmost seriousness and are working closely with all parties to manage the situation swiftly and responsibly". It said: "Immediately upon identifying the issue, we informed our retail and food-service customers and engaged with all relevant authorities, including the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the Health Service Executive, and our regional Environmental Health Officer. "Through our retail partners, all products are being withdrawn from the shelves, and a full consumer communication process is under way." As a precautionary measure Ballymaguire Foods said that on Saturday it made the decision to temporarily suspend all production at the affected facility, and that a comprehensive assessment and immediate corrective actions were carried out, including a full pharmaceutical-grade clean down of the facility. It said production will resume at the facility once it is confirmed safe to do so. Symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications. Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria monocytogenes infections, including pregnant women, babies, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly. The incubation period (time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing) is on average three weeks but can range between three to 70 days.
