The Food Safety Authority has ordered the withdrawal of two French pates by retailers here. The pates are rillettes (goose, duck or pork) and langotine (pork tongue in aspic) and are manufactured under the brand name Paul Predault by Societe Coudray in France.
The withdrawal follows a number of cases of listeria poisoning in France which have been associated with the pates. While there have been no reported cases of such poisoning here, the authority said yesterday that consumers who have the product in their homes should not eat it.
Meanwhile, Societe Coudray began a complete disinfection of its factory at the weekend. It was shut on Friday after a 75-year-old man and a baby contaminated in the womb died from listeria suspected to have come from the company's rillettes.
Four other cases of listeria were reported in France on Friday, with one victim in a coma.
The weekly Ouest-France Dimanche reported yesterday that Coudray had known about the listeria problem since November following independent tests performed last September.
Listeria, which can occur in meat and dairy products, poses little danger to most people. But it is a serious threat to the very young, the very old, pregnant women and those with impaired immune systems. The maximum incubation period is eight weeks.