It comes after a brand of ready meals were recalled due to the infection last week
Spinach and mixed leaves have been recalled from Northern Ireland supermarkets as a “precaution” after a listeria detection in the Republic of Ireland.
The affected products are produced by McCormack Family Farms, who supply to Lidl stores, Dunnes Stores and Musgrave Ltd in Northern Ireland. Lidl previously confirmed it was recalling products from its 43 stores in Northern Ireland, and 186 stores in the Republic of Ireland as a “precautionary measure.”
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it has been “working closely” with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and local retailers to assess the distribution of these products in Northern Ireland.
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The alert issued on Sunday, July 27 by the the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said: “Retailers are requested to remove the implicated products from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.
“Wholesalers/distributors are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated products and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers.
“Caterers should not use the implicated products. Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated products.”
The listeria alert relates to the below products:
Last week, 141 ready meals were recalled “due to a link with the outbreak.” The prepared meals and side dishes are produced by Ballymaguire Foods and are sold in many supermarkets in the country, including Tesco, Aldi, Centra and Supervalu. The outbreak has been linked to one death and nine confirmed cases of listeriosis in the Republic of Ireland.
In a statement, Ballymaguire Foods, which is based in Dublin, 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”.
What is listeria?
Listeria infection, also known as listeriosis, is an illness caused by bacteria that can spread through food.
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 become more severe leading to serious complications.
The incubation period (the time between initial infection and the first appearance of symptoms) averages about three weeks, but can range from three to 70 days.
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