A butter product sold in Ireland is being urgently recalled due to the detection of a meningitis-causing bug.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has issued the recall on a batch of Bandon Co-op butter.
Listeria monocytogenes, an infection that can lead to the deadly disease, was detected in a batch of the product with a best before date of September 14 2019.
A FSAI statement said: "The above batch of Bandon Co-Op butter is being recalled due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
"The implicated batch was distributed to retail shops in County Cork only."
Consumers are being advised to not eat the product, while businesses are being asked to remove them from sale.
Symptoms of Listeria infection can include vomiting, persistent fever and neck stiffness, and, in rare cases, it could cause meningitis.
Pregnant women, babies and people with weakened immune systems are more vulnerable to the bug.
According to SafeFood, people can help avoid Listeria contamination in food by:
- Washing all fruit, vegetable and salad before using them
- Cooking food fully and serve it when it is still very hot
- Making sure that their fridge is at 5°C or below
- Putting chilled food in the fridge straight away and eat it as soon as possible
- Throwing out food that has passed the ‘use by’ or the ‘best before’ date
- Keeping cooked food and raw food away from each other
The infection live in meat, milk, butter, cream, yogurt and vegetables.
Uncooked food that is kept in the fridge can have Listeria, as well as goods that are cooked before they are sold.
Bandon Co-op has been contacted by the Irish Mirror for comment.
