Sandwiches and wraps from manufacturers across the UK have been recalled as a precaution after a small number of ‘salad leaf products’ were implicated in a bout of E. coli food poisoning which has affected more than 210 people over the last few weeks.
The Food Standards agency has announced that three companies (Greencore Group, Samworth Brothers Manton Wood, and THIS!) have recalled sandwiches and wraps from retailers including Aldi, Amazon, Asda, Co-op, WH Smith, Sainsbury’s and Tesco as a precaution, although none of the affected products has tested positive for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), which is responsible for the outbreak.
Previously the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) had warned the cases, which have hospitalised almost 70 people, were linked to a ‘nationally distributed food item’. The Food Standards Agency has now said it has narrowed the source ‘to a small number of salad leaf products that have been used in sandwiches, wraps, subs and rolls’.
Darren Whitby, head of incidents at the Food Standards Agency, said, “This is a complex investigation, and we have worked swiftly with the relevant businesses and the local authorities concerned to narrow down the wide range of foods consumed to a small number of salad leaf products that have been used in sandwiches and wraps.
“Infections caused by [E. coli] STEC bacteria can cause severe bloody diarrhoea and, in some cases, more serious complications. We therefore advise any consumers who have any of these products not to eat them.”
Work is now underway to identify the supplier of the salad leaves and the farm or farms that they came from.