Sainsbury’s have urgently recalled more than a dozen sandwich fillers after detecting a potentially deadly food bug in the little tubs of otherwise delicious fillings.
The supermarket chain has discovered a strain of Listeria monocytogenes in 13 types of their own brand Deli Fillers, which double as the perfect sandwich-making solutions for students and fellow lazy people.
But this food bug can cause flu-like symptoms, stomach pains, cramps, sickness and diarrhoea, and can even prove fatal for the elderly, pregnant women, unborn children and anyone with a weak immune system. In rare cases, it can also cause complications resulting in meningitis.
The affected Deli Fillers include all sizes of cheese and onion, coronation chicken, egg mayo and tuna and sweetcorn tubs.
The bug was also found in Sainsbury’s 220g tubs of chicken and sweetcorn, chicken tikka, egg and bacon, seafood cocktail, and Be Good To Yourself tuna and sweetcorn fillers .
The affected tubs all have a use by date of July 4, and shoppers have been advised to check their fridges and stay away from products that match this description.
A Sainbury’s spokesperson explained:
Routine testing has detected Listeria in a limited number of the above products. As a precautionary measure, we are asking all customers who have bought any of the above products not to consume or use them, but to return them to their nearest Sainsbury’s store, where they will receive a full refund.
If you have eaten this product and need further advice, please contact your health care professional. No other products or date codes are affected by this issue, and we apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.
The Food Standards Agency said:
Sainsbury’s is recalling a number of their products because Listeria monocytogenes has been found in some of the products. No other Sainsbury’s products are known to be affected.
Symptoms caused by this organism can be similar to flu and include high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea. In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications, such as meningitis.
Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria infections, including those over 65 years of age, pregnant women and their unborn babies, babies less than one month old and people with weakened immune systems.
They concluded:
If you have bought any of the above products do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund.
Check your fridges, people.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.