Public urged to take listeria risk seriously

Consumers have been urged to take the recall of some products in Northern Ireland and the Republic due to fears of listeria contamination seriously.

Some potted coriander plants and a hummus products, supplied by O'Hanlon Herbs, have been recalled from several supermarkets, including Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Aldi, Lidl, Marks & Spencer and SuperValu.

Neil Johnston, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, warned that the potential health risks posed by possibly contaminated products must not be underestimated.

"People who are immunocompromised run the risk of getting seriously ill, so everybody needs to take notice," Mr Johnston said.

A 150g batch of Tom & Ollie traditional hummus has also been recalled as part of the measures.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has said they were distributed to both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The watchdog has requested retailers remove the affected batches from the shop floor and display recall notices at pay points.

Consumers who have bought the affected products are advised to not eat them.

The FSAI said there is currently "no evidence" the recalled hummus product is connected to the previous recall of spinach and mixed leaves or the ready meals recall, which was linked to one death and nine listeriosis cases.

Last week spinach and mixed leaves products produced by McCormack Family Farms, who supply Lidl, Dunnes Stores and Musgrave Ltd in Northern Ireland, were recalled as a precaution following the detection of listeria in the Republic of Ireland.

Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme on Thursday, Mr Johnston said vigilance is key.

"As soon as an alert is raised, the Food Standards Agency put out a notice and retailers act immediately," he said.

"There is a vast array of products in our supermarkets and the vast bulk of them are safe to use, but occasionally there are slip-ups like this, and it's very unfortunate that this has happened.

"The thing we all need to concentrate on now with consumers, retailers and suppliers is to get this stuff out of the system and protect everybody.

Mr Johnston said the safety of consumers was paramount and he urged people to check what they have bought.

"My concern is some of these products may have been bought a week or so back and people have forgotten where they bought them," he said.

"The retailers all have notices up in their shops, but people may have some of these potted products out sitting on windowsills, they need to bin it, or take it back to these retailers and under no circumstances use it.

"Nobody wants a dose of vomiting, nausea or diarrhoea, so just take it back to the shop or put it in the bin."

Listeria infection is an illness caused by bacteria that can spread through food.

Another name for the illness is listeriosis.

It can be very serious for pregnant women, babies, people over the age of 65 and those with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms of listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

In rare cases, the infection can become more severe, leading to serious complications.

The incubation period (the time between initial infection and the first appearance of symptoms) averages about three weeks, but can range from three to 70 days.