3 days ago
Second listeria outbreak triggers recall of seven more products from supermarket shelves
The affected products include: McCormack Family Farms' 'Energise Super Mix', 'Irish Spinach Leaves', 'Mixed leaves' and 'Baby Leaves'. Also impacted are Tesco's 'Mild Spinach' and Egan's 'Irish Baby Spinach'. Also affected are Supervalu's unwashed spinach bags.
Products and the list of affected dates are listed below.
People have been advised not to eat the implicated products.
Retailers have been asked to remove products from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.
Wholesalers have been told to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated products and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers. This comes following confirmation by the HSE of the death of an adult due to listeriosis earlier this week, after the recall of 141 different ready-made meals and side dishes sold in major retail supermarkets.
The HSE also confirmed nine cases of listeriosis as of Tuesday, July 22.
Retailers have been asked to remove all implicated products from sale and display recall notices at the point of sale.
Ballymaguire Foods who produce the products that have been recalled have said that they temporarily suspended all production at the affected facility on Saturday, July 19 and apologised to customers.
The company said: 'Immediately upon identifying the issue, we informed our retail and foodservice customers and engaged with all relevant authorities, including the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), the Health Service Executive (HSE), and our regional Environmental Health Officer.
It added following the closure of the facility, its 'internal team, supported by independent external experts, conducted a comprehensive assessment and implemented immediate corrective actions'.
This included a full pharmaceutical-grade clean down of the facility.
"We sincerely apologise to our customers and consumers for the concern this may cause.'
The company has since appointed Dr Patrick Wall – former Chief Executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, former Chairperson of the European Food Safety Authority, and former Professor of Public Health at University College Dublin to lead their response team.
Both the FSAI and HSE's National Outbreak Control team are investigating the outbreak.
Symptoms of listeria can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
The incubation period – the time from first becoming infected to displaying symptoms – is an average of three weeks. However, it can be anywhere between three and 70 days.
Cases of listeriosis are rare and rarely diagnosed in healthy adults and children.
The FSAI has warned that some people are more at risk of infection, including the elderly, people with weakened immune systems, pregnant women and babies.
