Production firm ceases at meat firm following death of three patients

Production has ceased at a cold meat firm following the death of three hospital patients.

The patients died after eating pre-packaged sandwiches contaminated with listeria.

The Good Food Chain which is based in Staffordshire produced the sandwiches.

The firm has voluntarily ceased production while an investigation is carried out.

Meat for the sandwiches had been produced by North Country Cooked Meats, based in Salford, which has also ceased production.

A spokesman for the company said it “is currently co-operating fully with the environmental health and the Food Standards Agency in their investigations, and a further statement will be issued in due course”.

Six people were diagnosed with a serious listeria infection between April 25 and May 15.

Two of the patients died at Manchester Royal Infirmary. The third death was at Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool.]

A spokesman for Manchester Royal Infirmary said: “We have offered our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and sincerely regret that two of our seriously ill patients who were receiving care in Manchester Royal Infirmary contracted listeria infections linked to this outbreak.

“We are continuing to work with Public Health England, NHS England and the Food Standards Agency to support their investigation into the cases of listeria that have been identified, which may be linked to one of the Trust’s food suppliers.

“Although the risk of infection was extremely small, as soon as the Trust was informed of the findings of Public Health England’s investigation, a decision was made to remove the sandwiches that may have been affected from the patient menu as a precautionary measure, and an alternative supplier was established.”

Dr Nick Phin, deputy director at the National Infection Service at Public Health England said: “Our thoughts are with the families of those patients who have died.

“We, along with the FSA, colleagues in local authorities and the NHS have worked quickly to determine the likely cause of this outbreak and taken action to reduce the risk to the public’s health.

“To date, there have been no associated cases identified outside healthcare organisations, and any risk to the public is low.”

Dr Colin Sullivan, chief operating officer at the Foods Standards Agency, said: “Our sympathies are with the families of those patients who have tragically passed away.

“We have taken action along with local authorities to minimise the risk based on the evidence so far.

“The FSA will continue to investigate how the outbreak occurred and if further steps are required to protect vulnerable groups.”