Council warning over contaminated sandwiches

A warning has been issued about contaminated sandwiches in West Sussex.

Horsham District Council (HDC) is alerting residents to the possible presence of potentially harmful bacteria in packaged sandwiches that may be on shelves in local corner shops and convenience stores.

The Food Standards Agency said Environmental Health and Trading Standards Services had been alerted to remove products that included "baguettes, French sticks, sandwiches, rolls and wraps" manufactured and supplied by Bread Spread Ltd, under the brand names Bread Spread, Orbital Foods and Perfect Bite.

Bread Spread Ltd has been contacted for a comment.

The food, all made at the same site in Southall, London, had been found to contain listeria monocytogenes, Horsham District Council said.

The Food Standards Agency says listeria monocytogenes (listeria) can cause an illness called listeriosis.

According to the NHS, listeriosis usually either has no symptoms or only causes mild symptoms for a few days including a high temperature, aches and pains, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea.

However, it can be more serious for some groups of people, the NHS website added.

Cabinet member for the environment, waste and recycling Jay Mercer said: “This bacteria can cause serious illness in people, particularly those aged over 65 years, young children, and immunocompromised individuals - but also in pregnant women and their unborn babies.

“Our environmental health team is taking steps to remove any of the affected products from sale where they are found and is encouraging shop owners to check their stocks in case they may have been supplied with these products."

People are being "strongly" urged to throw away the impacted food as it "must not be consumed".

The Food Standards Agency says this is a "developing situation".

"All chilled and ready-to-eat foods with a use-by date up to and including 18 May 2024, manufactured or supplied by Bread Spead Ltd, are affected."

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