Sausage recall too late for sickened teen

WELLINGTON: A Wellington teenager went into anaphylactic shock after eating a sausage mistakenly labelled as dairy free.

Hellers has recalled a batch of its Original Sizzlers after discovering they were cheese sausages in the wrong packaging, but the recall did not come soon enough for 14yearold Meaghan Robertson Serjeantson.

Meaghan was rushed to hospital on Wednesday with hives and her throat closing after eating the sausages.

‘‘I was home alone. I was cooking myself lunch and I had, like, eaten most of the hot dog and realised it felt kind of funny,’’ she said.

Meaghan, who has severe allergies to dairy products, as well as some types of nuts, eggs and kiwifruit, noticed the sausages were greasier than usual, but masked the taste with tomato sauce and chopped onions.

She has never tasted cheese before so mistakenly assumed the clumps in the middle of the sausage were bits of fat.

‘‘Ten minutes later I started getting hives and stuff.’’

She called her mother, who was about 15 minutes from home, and the pair rushed to Wellington Hospital.

‘‘I looked like a tomato and when the nurse saw my face, she just skipped triage.’’

Meaghan needed two doses of adrenaline, as well as oxygen and steroids. She and her mother were in the hospital for about nine hours.

‘‘She’s a pretty tough nut. She’s dealt with allergies, eczema and asthma from year one,’’ father Kevin Robertson said.

The family placed a ‘‘high reliance’’ on food labelling to keep Meaghan safe.

More chilling was the thought that it was not uncommon for the family to take a bag of the sausages with them if they went camping.

‘‘That’s the sort of circumstance that could have ended in a fatality,’’ Mr Robertson said.

Hellers had notified the Ministry for Primary Industries and issued a recall notice for any of the affected Original Sizzlers 450g packs with a bestbefore date of November 3, Hellers chief executive John McWhirter said.

‘‘We have a very robust investigation process to establish whether there is indeed an issue and, if so, the cause of the issue and then activate a series of steps to ensure a responsible and quick response to the situation, including product recalls where required,’’ he said.

Sale of the sausages has been halted and supermarkets have put up notices advising of the recall.