43 corn products in listeria recall
WATCHDOGS have named 43 types of frozen sweetcorn products that are being withdrawn after a food poisoning alert.
The recall has been triggered by concerns they may be contaminated with Listeria, which is a particular threat to the elderly, pregnant women and babies.
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 experts say they only became aware of a possible link between cases on the Continent and those in the UK in March, when they launched a detailed investigation. A 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.’
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 shelflife 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.’