Urgent recall on top ham

A RECALL has been issued on smoked ham from an awardwinning Tasmanian butcher, with a string of independent food retailers on alert.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has flagged a listeria contamination in 250g vacuum bags of JB Nicholas and Son Premium Tasmanian Smoked Ham that expire on October 16.

The contaminated smoked ham product was sold at the Geeveston and Cygnet IGAs, and the Hill Street Grocer in Sandy Bay between Tuesday, August 31 and Thursday, September 9. It was also on the shelves at IGAs and independent grocers in Victoria between those dates.

JB Nicholas and Son owner Matthew Nicholas said the firm was working on identifying the source of the infection.

“We’ve already done secondary testing and the levels are very low, which is good news,” Mr Nicholas said on Wednesday.

Listeria can cause illness in pregnant women and their unborn babies and is also a risk for the elderly and people with low immune systems.

The ACCC said consumers should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund.