Cooked Italian ham and mortadella contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes

A spokesman for the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (October 20) said that two kinds of cooked and chilled ham and mortadella manufactured in Italy were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a pathogen. Although the use-by date of the affected products has passed, the CFS, for prudence's sake, urged consumers who have bought and still possess the following batches of the products not to consume them:

(1) Product name: Fumagalli Organic Cooked Ham
Place of origin: Italy
Weight: 70 grams
Use-by date: October 16, 2014

(2) Product name: Fumagalli Organic Mortadella
Place of origin: Italy
Weight: 70 grams
Use-by date: October 16, 2014

The spokesman said, "The Centre received notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission that upon testing, samples of the ham and mortadella concerned were found to have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. According to the information provided by RASFF, a French retailer involved has initiated a recall. About 11 kilograms of the affected product has been imported to Hong Kong."

The CFS has contacted the importer concerned in Hong Kong, City Super Limited, and learnt that the affected products had been taken off the shelves. For enquiries about the recall, consumers may call the company's hotline (2736 3866) during office hours. The CFS will also alert the trade of the incident to ensure that the affected product has not entered the local market via other channels.

"Listeria monocytogenes can be easily destroyed by cooking but can survive and multiply at refrigerator temperature. Most healthy individuals do not develop symptoms or only have mild symptoms like fever, muscle pain, headache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea when infected. However, severe complications such as septicemia, meningitis or even death may occur in newborns, elderly and those with a weaker immune system. Although infected pregnant women may just experience mild symptoms generally, the infection of Listeria monocytogenes may cause miscarriage, infant death, preterm birth, or severe infection in the newborns," the spokesman said.

He urged consumers to seek medical advice if they feel sick after consuming the product concerned.

The CFS will continue to closely monitor the situation and take appropriate follow-up actions.

Ends/Monday, October 20, 2014