Woolworths and Tripod Farmers have issued a recall of pre-packaged lettuce leaves due to the potential presence of Salmonella. Salad products recalled are those with a use by date up to and including 14/2/16. The products affected are listed below.

  • WOOLWORTHS SELECT Fresh Cut Baby Spinach 100g.
  • WOOLWORTHS SELECT Fresh Cut Salad / Gourmet Mix 100g.
  • WOOLWORTHS SELECT Fresh Cut Baby Rocket 100g.
  • Fresh Cut Loose Baby Spinach 1kg.
  • Fresh Cut Salad Loose Mesculin 1kg.

Any people with these items should definitely return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. There has been some social media backlash that some stores were not quick enough to remove the pre-packaged salads from their shelves once it became public knowledge, where people had taken to facebook to show receipts that identified that the items in question were still being sold post the time that the organisation was officially stating that these products had been removed.

Any media coverage of Food safety and food hygiene always makes people sit up and listen, primarily because it is something very real and tangible that can affect us all in the community quite quickly. It is quite alarming that the number of outbreak of salmonella cases has now topped 62, where it may take a number of weeks to investigate and determine the cause of the outbreak. It could be possible that the outbreak could have been caused by the fertiliser used to grow the lettuce. A spokesperson from the Victorian Health Department has highlighted that investing root causes of outbreaks such as this is a very labour and time intensive process. The health department says that between 6 to 72 hours after the bacteria is ingested is when symptoms of salmonellosis become apparent.

 

Salad products recalled

Woolworths salad
Woolworths salad
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