UK – Meat and poultry giant Cranswick Country Foods, has recalled more than 100 products containing its ready-to-eat chicken after a routine internal inspection identified the presence of salmonella on a limited number of such products at its poultry processing plant in Hull.
The affected products go into sandwiches and meals sold at retailers across the country.
Sam Bacon, Food, Health and Safety Manager at Hull City Council said the products had largely been distributed to supermarkets, which have been made aware of the issue and asked to remove the products from sale.
“Notices have been displayed in stores which sold the affected products. These explain which products are at risk and should not be eaten,” he said.
Items from Tesco’s One Stop convenience store chain, as well as Starbucks, Costa, Amazon, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Aldi, the Co-op, Pret a Manger and Marks & Spencer are among those potentially contaminated.
Cranswick said in a statement that it was working with the Foods Standards Agency (FSA) to try to resolve the issue.
“We are conducting a thorough investigation into the possible cause of the contamination and the site will remain closed until the investigations are complete. The safety and quality of every product produced by Cranswick is our number one priority and all necessary protocols will be followed and completed before we restart production,” the company said.
The FSA advised anyone who had bought one of the potentially affected products not to eat it and to return it to the shop where it was purchased for a full refund. It has listed around 100 products involved in the recall.
Sainsbury’s apologized for any inconvenience caused after recalling the majority of its premium Taste the Difference chicken sandwiches, chicken wraps and chicken sandwich platters, and some of its cooked chicken.
Tesco said it was recalling a number of items including some chicken breast slices with a use-by date up to 20 May and fajita chicken breast mini-fillets with a use-by date up to 18 May.
Waitrose said it was recalling 10 chicken sandwich and wrap lines with use-by dates up to and including 14 May. Marks & Spencer is recalling 12 items including roast chicken sandwiches, chicken salads and a mini-roll selection.
The sandwich-maker Greencore said it was “moving quickly to alternative sources of supply in order to minimize any potential shortfall of products that may be affected”.
Salmonella
Salmonella is a form of bacteria often found in raw or undercooked meat, raw eggs, milk, and other dairy products.
Symptoms of salmonellosis, which include vomiting and fever, typically resolve themselves within a few days, but they can be more severe and lead to hospitalization, especially in the very young and those with weakened immune systems.
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