Urgent ‘do not eat’ alert and recall for weekday meal essential over listeria fears

Sainsbury’s has recalled one of its own-brand chorizo products from shelves over health concerns.

Food safety watchdogs have stuck a ‘do not eat’ alert on the supermarket’s Taste the Difference Spanish Chorizo Iberico Ring.

It is feared ‘some’ batches of the cured meat, which costs £3.25, are contaminated with listeria. 

The nasty bug — which can kill — usually causes a fever, sickness and diarrhoea. Its symptoms typically fade naturally within days.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued the alert.

Food safety watchdogs have stuck a ‘do not eat’ alert on the supermarket’s Taste the Difference Spanish Chorizo Iberico Ring. It is feared ‘some’ batches of the cured meat, which costs £3.25, are contaminated with listeria 

Sainsbury’s said the recall of its 200g product was a ‘precautionary action’. It impacts all date codes of the chorizo ring, with best before dates between November 23 and January 16, 2024. Point of sale notices, which explain to customers why the product is being recalled, will also be displayed in all stores selling the product, the FSA said 

Sainsbury’s said the recall of its 200g product was a ‘precautionary action’. 

It impacts all date codes of the chorizo ring, with best before dates between November 23 and January 16, 2024. 

Point of sale notices, which explain to customers why the product is being recalled, will also be displayed in all stores selling the product, the FSA said.

It added: ‘If you have bought any of the above product do not eat it. 

‘Instead, return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund.’

Further information on how to return it to store can be found on the supermarket’s website or by contacting their company careline, it also advised.

Listeriosis is a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium listeria monocytogenes. 

It poses a particular threat to the elderly, pregnant women and babies.

Those who eat food containing listeria monocytogenes could develop an infection called listeriosis, which can cause a fever, aches and pains, chills, nausea, sickness and diarrhoea

For most people, listeria poisoning can be similar to flu and include high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills and feeling or being sick.

Usually symptoms recede after a few days.

However, in rarer cases the infection can be more severe, causing life-threatening complications, such as meningitis. 

Listeria most commonly infects chilled, ready-to-eat foods such as pre-packed sandwiches, pate and soft cheeses.

According to the latest available data, a total of 160 cases of listeriosis were reported in England and Wales in 2021.

Some 22 deaths were recorded, of which 12 had listeriosis recorded as a cause of death on the death certificate. 

Meanwhile in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that about 1,600 people get listeriosis each year.

Dozens of cheeses have been recalled this year over fears they were contaminated with listeria, too.