Ealing Council’s food safety team has been working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) following a public warning about listeria found in chilled and ready to eat products from Southall-based Bread Spread Ltd. The products are sold under its brand names Bread Spread, Orbital Foods and Perfect Bite with a use by date up to 18 May 2024.
The council has said “a formal investigation is under way”.
Anyone who has bought these products is being told not to consume them and dispose of them safety at home. The FSA and Ealing Council said this is due to listeria and the danger it poses which can include high temperature, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea.
The Bread Spread Ltd recall of its products include sandwiches, wraps, baguettes, twists, french sticks and torpedoes with a range of fillings and is said to involve more than 20 different items.
The FSA said: “If you have purchased any products listed above, or any other products that are chilled or ready-to-eat from Bread Spread Ltd , do not eat them. Instead, dispose of the products safely, at home.”
It further added: “As these products have not been prepared in accordance with food hygiene, safety and other legislative requirements, they do not comply with the requirements of assimilated EU Regulations. Local Authorities have been requested to remove unsafe products from the market. Any concerns regarding unsafe foods, should be reported to the local authority where it was purchased.”
Speaking to EALING.NEWS, an Ealing Council spokesperson said: “Officers from Ealing Council’s food safety team reported unsafe levels of disease-causing listeria monocytogenes in ready to eat foods produced by Bread Spread Ltd to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), after the bacteria was found in samples collected by the council and analysed by the UK Health Security Agency.”
The spokesperson added: “Our food safety officers are overseeing the product recall undertaken by the business and liaising with the company, the FSA, and other local authorities to ensure consumers are not put at risk and the affected products are removed from sale as quickly as possible.
“Enforcement action has been taken to prevent a recurrence of the issue at the business, and a formal investigation is under way. If any members of the public find these products on sale, they should urgently notify the local authority where the product is being sold.”
According to its website, Bread Spread Ltd, based at Balfour Business Centre in Balfour Road, supplies universities, colleges and over 1000 independent retail stores across the UK.
The FSA previously issued a recall notice for Bread Spread products containing chicken in July 2020 due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
In its current notification, the FSA explained the reason is due to: “The presence of Listeria monocytogenes in the above products.”
It further detailed the seriousness of the issue: “Symptoms caused by this organism can be similar to flu and include high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea. However, in rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications, such as meningitis.
“Some people are more vulnerable to listeria infections, including those over 65 years of age, pregnant women and their unborn babies, babies less than one month old and people with weakened immune systems.”
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