Council withdraws potentially fatal meat products from shelves » Local Government » 24dash.com

Bedfordshire County Council has withdrawn meat products following fears of the potentially fatal bug listeria.

Trading standards and local environmental health officers said they took "decisive action" to withdraw products under the Samsonas brand from local shops.

JSC Samsonas, from Kaunas in Lithuania, has withdrawn all of its products from the UK market after high levels of listeria monocytogenes were found in its Ears and Tongue roll brand.

The levels of listeria detected were well above legal limits and could pose a serious risk to human health.

A Food Standards Agency (FSA) notice of the recall asked local authorities to contact specialist Eastern European food shops in their area to determine whether all products had been removed from sale.

Bedfordshire County Council said although no local businesses are on a list of retailers supplied with the products, the authority will contact local shops to make sure they withdraw them.

Peter Hollick, Bedfordshire County Council cabinet member for community services, said: "The safety of the public is our first priority. Our trading standards officers, together with environmental health officers, are working closely with local retailers to ensure meat products sold under the Samsonas brand are withdrawn."

Earlier this month the FSA warned about chilled, ready-to-eat food after a doubling in the cases of listeria.

The FSA said latest figures showed 400 cases a year, double the number seen in 2001, and a rise of a fifth in the past 12 months.

An FSA spokeswoman said similar rises had been seen in other countries and it was thought to be linked to the consumption of pre-packed, chilled food.