‘Do not eat them!’ Chicken products taken off shelves over salmonella
MORE raw chicken products have been removed from supermarket shelves amid a salmonella scare.
The products are being recalled by processor Western Brand and were on sale in Aldi, Lidl, Dunnes Stores and Tesco.
Other products being removed were sold under BWG’s Glenmor brand. The affected products include chicken fillets, mini fillets and small chickens. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said the extended recall of Western Brand chickens follows a Department of Agriculture investigation into salmonella outbreaks.
It stressed that to date, there have been no confirmed cases of human illness linked to this probe. However, the FSAI is warning consumers who
‘Raw chicken should never be washed’
may have the affected chicken products at home not to eat them.
It was announced earlier this week by the Department of Agriculture that salmonella had been found in eight commercial poultry flocks, and that the affected birds had all been culled.
The salmonella cases were detected as a result of the routine testing that always takes place before chickens are sent for processing. Salmonella is a bacteria that is considered a risk to human health; the most common symptom of infection is diarrhoea, but other signs include fever, headache and abdominal cramps.
People with salmonella typically develop symptoms 12 to 36 hours after infection, but this can range between six and 72 hours.
The illness usually lasts four to seven days, and the resulting diarrhoea can occasionally be severe enough to require hospital admission. Dr Pamela Byrne, chief executive of the FSAI, said: ‘If anyone has any of the affected chicken products at home, we are advising them not to eat it.
‘To date, there have been no confirmed cases of human illness linked to this investigation. Just as a reminder to consumers, raw chicken should always be handled hygienically to prevent cross-contamination with ready-to-eat food and raw chicken should never be washed. Always wash your hands after handling it and always wash any utensils you’ve used to prepare it.
‘Raw chicken should always be cooked thoroughly before eating it.’
Eggs are said to be unaffected by the recent salmonella outbreak. The FSAI said it was liaising with the Department of Agriculture in its ongoing investigation into broiler flocks, and that additional testing was being continued. It has said it is important to identify the source of the infection, and that there would be detailed comparisons across the outbreak sites to track and trace the virus.
Irish Farmers’ Association poultry chairman Nigel Sweetnam said the cases under investigation involve a ‘small number of farms’, adding that the situation was ‘devastating for the flock owners’.
Mr Sweetnam said ‘the affected flocks are restricted and there is no threat to human health’. He urged all flock owners to ‘review their biosecurity measures and to be extra vigilant’.