Avoca hummus, colcannon recalled after listeria found

Avoca confirms it is conducting a ‘thorough investigation’ into affected batches

Avoca Suffolk Street. Photograph: Cyril Byrne
Avoca Suffolk Street. Photograph: Cyril Byrne

Batches of Avoca-brand hummus and colcannon have been recalled because of the “ presence of listeria monocytogene”, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has said.

Listeria monocytogene is a bacteria which causes listeriosis infections. The FSAI said listeriosis was a “serious disease” which can be “life threatening, particularly for pregnant women, the elderly and other people with a weakened immune system.”

There was one affected batch for each product. The hummus had a use -by date of February 7th and the colcannon had a use-by date of February 4th.

The authority said customers are advised not to eat the product and should dispose or return to the shop.

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It said food businesses should remove the product from sale and put up a notice telling customers not to eat the product.

A statement from Avoca released on Saturday confirmed that "a voluntarily recall of a single batch of two Avoca products" took place after a routine test indicated that the product did not meet the necessary standards.

The company said it had notified the authorities of its decision to recall the batch of products “as a precautionary measure”.

“The products were on sale in Avoca stores only and have been withdrawn from sale,” said the statement. “Customer notices are on display in store with the product recall details.”

“In line with Avoca’s commitment to quality and food safety, we are treating this matter very seriously and conducting a thorough investigation.”

Avoca is a clothing manufacturing, retail, food and cafe business which started in Co Wicklow and operates several large retail outlets, food halls and cafes across Ireland.

Multinational Aramark paid the Pratt family more than €50 million for Avoca in 2015.