The food safety watchdog has issued new listeria alerts over several ready meals sold in retail outlets across Ireland.
Fit Foods Chicken and Chorizo with Baby Potatoes, Fit Foods Chicken & Stuffing with Potatoes and Gravy, Chef Select High Protein Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Fresh Choice Kitchen Roast Chicken Dinner were the subject of one recall notice issued by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
In another, batches of Roast Chicken and Gravy Dinners produced by Kilbride Classic Cuisine were recalled.
The authority noted that some meals carry the words “Produced by: Kilbride Classic Cuisine” only on the back-of-pack label and are labelled with information relating to the individual store where the product was purchased.
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It stressed that the front-of-pack label varies from store to store and urged consumers to check the back-of-pack label on these products to determine if they have the affected batches.
Chicken dinners dated “best before” between September 17th and September 26th are listed as affected by the notice.
The Fit Foods meals in question are dated between September 17th and September 29th, while the jerk chicken meals are dated between September 22nd and 24th. Fresh Choice Kitchen Roast Chicken Dinners dated between September 20th and 27th are included.
In healthy people, symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
However, in people who are more vulnerable, the infection can be severe and can lead to serious complications.
People who are more vulnerable to listeria infections include pregnant women, infants, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
The incubation period or time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing is, on average, three weeks but can range between three and 70 days.
All retailers have been requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and display recall notices at point of sale.
Meanwhile, wholesalers and distributors have been told to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated batches and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers.
Consumers have been warned not to eat the implicated batches and to return them to the shops where they were bought, where they will be able to get a full refund.
