Italy recalls salmon sandwiches over Listeria fears

Rome: Italy’s health ministry has recalled salmon and mayonnaise sandwiches due to Listeria concerns, days after frankfurter sausages were withdrawn fom the market over links to several deaths.

The health warning relates to salmon sandwiches marked with the ‘Gli allegri sapori’ brand and produced by Laboratorio Gastronomico Due A.A. s.rl, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Consumers who have already bought the product are warned not to eat it and to return it to its place of purchase for a refund before 10 October.

The warning comes after an increase in cases of listeriosis in several Italian regions due to food contaminated by the Listeria ST 155 strain.

Last week the health ministry ordered that certain batches of würstels made from poultry meat (1785417 and 01810919) be withdrawn from shops after links were detected between the Agricola Tre Valli product and dozens of Listeria cases in northern Italy since 2020, including three deaths between late 2021 and June of this year.

An investigation is underway into the death in recent days of an 80-year-old man from Alessandria who was admitted to hospital after allegedly eating uncooked chicken frankfurters, according to state broadcaster RAI News.

Listeria monocytogenes is a pathogenic bacteria that causes the infection listeriosis.

It is primarily transmitted from eating contaminated food products, after which the bacteria penetrates the intestinal tract to cause systemic infections which can be treated with prolonged doses of antibiotics.