Listeria probe: rice mix recalled

THE PRODUCTION of Woolworths’s frozen savoury rice mix has been halted until investigations into traces of listeria are completed.

This followed a recall after the Hungarian Food Safety Agency flagged a factory in Hungary as the potential source for a listeria outbreak.

The Woolworths product is sourced from Belgium and contains frozen sweetcorn sourced from the Greenyard factory in Hungary.

According to European news reports there were nine deaths over the past three years caused by a listeria infection in frozen foods, which allegedly started in a Hungarian plant.

The nine deaths were reported in the UK, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Austria.

Woolworths would not disclose how many of their products were returned and how much money they refunded.

“We are not at liberty to disclose this information. The product is currently stopped. We will re-commence production following thorough investigations and approval from authorities.”

They added that the bacteria was “easily destroyed by cooking”.

“The frozen savoury rice mix is uncooked and frozen and so requires cooking before consumption. Thorough cooking ensures that the product is safe. We are voluntarily recalling this product as a precautionary measure on the global instruction of the Hungarian Food Safety Agency.”

They said none of their other frozen sweetcorn or vegetable products were affected.

Greenyard said: “The recall is a precautionary measure and does not imply that recalled products are contaminated.

‘‘We advise consumers to cook frozen products. When cooked for two minutes at 70°C, the potential risk of infection is fully eliminated.

“We are currently in contact with the relevant authorities to assess further information on this particular strain and we fully support any further research, as food safety and the health of consumers are our number one priority.”

The company estimated that after insurance, the cost of the recall amounted to more than R400 million.