Supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Aldi have been forced to recall more frozen products over fears they may be contaminated with listeria.
The Food Standards Agency has named more products that are being withdrawn from shelves after a food poisoning alert.
These include Tesco’s Frozen Mixed Vegetables and Peppers, Lidl’s Green Grocer’s Carrots, Broccoli & Sweetcorn, and Sainsbury’s Mixed Vegetables.
The additional products have been withdrawn after watchdogs named 43 types of frozen sweetcorn products last week that have been recalled over concerns they may be contaminated with listeria.
The bacteria is a particular threat to the elderly, pregnant women and babies.
Over 50 frozen products have now been withdrawn from supermarkets across the country due to concerns they may be contaminated.
Supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Aldi have been forced to recall more frozen products over fears they may be contaminated with listeria
The recall involves many own-brand products sold by leading supermarkets, such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Iceland, as well as brands such as Ross.
Stores are clearing tens of thousands of packs from freezer cabinets, while shoppers can return products to get a refund. Contaminated sweetcorn has been linked to 47 cases of illness across Europe, including nine deaths.
There are 11 known cases in the UK, although the real figure is likely to be many times higher. There have been two UK deaths, although both victims had underlying health conditions.
Most people who contract listeria poisoning suffer no more than a severe headache, stiff neck and stomach upset – symptoms that recede after a few days. However, some vulnerable groups can develop life-threatening complications, such as sepsis.
The list of products being recalled was released by the Food Standards Agency. It said listeria can be killed with thorough cooking. However, some people eat sweetcorn raw in salads.
The contamination has been traced to a frozen food plant in Hungary which is known to have had problems with listeria contamination dating back to 2016. Despite this, it was allowed to continue supplying shops.
Public Health England says it only became aware of a possible link between cases on the Continent and those in the UK in March, when its experts launched a detailed investigation.
A PHE spokesman said: ‘In the UK, there have been two deaths due to listeria linked to this outbreak. Both were in 2017 and in both cases, the individuals had underlying conditions.’
The products have been withdrawn over concerns they may be contaminated with listeria. The bacteria (above) is a particular threat to the elderly, pregnant women and babies
It is known that the sweetcorn originated in Hungary and that some of the contaminated batches were packaged in Poland. It was produced by a Belgian firm called Greenyard, which says it is Europe’s second biggest seller of frozen vegetables and fruit, at a plant in Baja. The company has factories across Europe, including two in Britain.
The Hungarian authorities shut down the Baja plant on June 29 and issued a recall of frozen vegetable products produced between August 2016 and June 2018. However, The European Food Safety Authority, which has been investigating the outbreak, said this does not mean that the threat is eliminated.
It warned: ‘New cases could still emerge due to the long incubation period of listeriosis of up to 70 days; the long shelf-life of frozen corn products; and the consumption of corn bought before the recalls.’
Greenyard said the recall ‘involved include frozen corn, peas, beans, spinach and sorrel. The recall initiative of these products does not imply that they are contaminated.’