Shoppers issued 'do not eat' warning as listeria found in food item

Shoppers have been issued a 'do not eat' warning by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) after listeria was found in corned beef.

Manufacturers are warning anyone who has bought Corned Beef with a September 20 sell-by date from Spar convenience stores in the north west of England that they should not eat the product. Instead, they should return the item to the shop they bought it from for a full refund.

The alert, issued on Thursday, reads: "James Hall & Co Ltd is recalling SPAR Corned Beef because Listeria monocytogenes has been found in the product. This recall only affects SPAR stores in the Northwest of England."

READ MORE: Masterchef’s Gregg Wallace eats ‘half a kilo’ of breakfast item to maintain five stone weight loss

It added: "If you have bought the above product, do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund."

The FSA said listeria monocytogenes, which can cause severe illness, have been found on 120g packs of corned beef. The bacteria can cause flu-like symptoms, such as a high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea.

In rare cases the bacteria may cause more serious infection, leading to serious complications, such as meningitis, the FSA said.

In a product recall notice, wholesalers James Hall & Co said: "James Hall & Co. Ltd are recalling the above line due to Listeria monocytogenes being detected on the product. Any customers who have bought the above product should return it to store for a full refund. No other products are affected. We apologise for any inconvenience to our customers."