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Listen to this siteWednesday 29 October 2008
Food Alert: for Action
Ref: 57/2008 (Update 1)
Following the Food Alert for Action 57/2008 issued on 22 October 2008 concerning a recall by Lignesa Foods Ltd of all date codes of product labelled with 'Samsono' brand Ears and Tongue Roll due to contamination with high levels of Listeria monocytogenes , further investigations have revealed that the affected product has also been imported into the UK by Lituanica UK Ltd. Lituanica UK Ltd has also recalled all date codes of Samsono Ears and Tongue Roll due to contamination with high levels of Listeria monocytogenes .
The affected product was exported by JSC 'Samsonas' in Lithuania, imported directly into the UK by Lituanica UK Ltd and distributed to 22 retail outlets in England. Details of these outlets can be found at the link below. In addition, the Agency has been informed of the product imported by Lituanica on sale at one retailer in Northern Ireland.
The levels of Listeria monocytogenes detected were up to 1.1 x 10 4 cfu/g and well above the legal limit of 100 cfu/g set in the Microbiological Criteria Regulation (EC) 2073/2005. Listeria monocytogenes was detected above the legal limit in 4 out of the 5 samples taken at the importer, Lituanica UK Ltd. The tested batch was not released on the market. However, there is concern that previous batches may also be contaminated.
Lituanica UK Ltd has undertaken a product recall of all previous batches and is displaying point-of-sale notices in all stores supplied. These notices alert customers to the recall and advise them of what actions to take if they have purchased the affected product. The Agency is also contacting media in the UK that serves the Lithuanian community to alert them to this incident.
The product being recalled is:
An image of the product can be found at the link below.
Local authorities, with the premises listed in the document at the link below, are requested to contact premises in their area to determine whether 'Samsono' Ear and Tongue roll has been removed from sale.
If the product imported by Lituanica UK Ltd is found to be on the premises, officers should:
The Agency would be grateful if all local authorities with premises listed in the document at the link below could inform the Agency of the outcome of their investigations.
Other local authorities are also requested to have regard to Lituanica UK Ltd products being present on the market during their routine inspections.
It is essential that all non-unitary authorities liaise at county level to ensure that they co-ordinate their actions.
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(pdf 62KB) Product image of 'Samsono' Ears and Tongue Roll See an image of the product recalled on 22 OctoberDownload pdf
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