Salmonella outbreak linked to Bovril and sandwich spread

Fears of a major salmonella outbreak affecting food across the country increased last night following a safety recall of ready-made sandwich fillings and thousands of jars of Bovril.

One person has died and more than 120 have fallen ill due to an outbreak of the Agona strain of the bacteria, which is linked to cooked meat sold in sandwich fillings.

It emerged last weekend that Subway, the world's biggest sandwich chain, had recalled chicken and beef fillings served in its restaurants across the UK and Ireland.

As well as being sold in Subway, the suspect meat has also been used to produce ready-made sandwiches in cafes and canteens across the country.

The meat was supplied by a producer from Country Kildare in the Republic of Ireland which has been identified as a likely source of the contamination.

Yesterday it was revealed that ready-made sandwich fillings containing bacon and chicken from the same supplier are also being removed from shelves.

Some 15,000 jars and tubs of Bovril have been withdrawn

The fillings were sold under ownbrand labels at Dunnes Stores and Supervalu in Ireland. They were also sold under the brand name of O'Brien's through Tesco outlets in Ireland.

Separately, some 15,000 jars and tubs of Bovril are being withdrawn from UK stores after the discovery of traces of a different strain of salmonella.

In this case, the salmonella was discovered as a result of routine testing.

A Food Safety Authority of Ireland inquiry into the Agona outbreak, which dates back to February, has pinpointed the Dawn Farm Foods plant in Naas, County Kildare.

Consumers who may have eaten suspect products and who feel unwell have been been advised to seek medical help.

Salmonella is a food-borne disease and symptoms can include diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever.

The suspect chicken and bacon sandwich filler was packed in clear 170g tubs and had best-before-end dates of between August 13 and August 18.

Public health authorities stressed that sandwiches sold at the O'Brien's sandwich retail chain were not affected by the scare.

Wholesalers have also been warned about bacon pieces from the Dawn Farm Foods plant that may have been used as pizza toppings and ready-meal ingredients.

The Food Standards Agency and Health Protection Agency is investigating the outbreak in the UK.

The FSA is also involved in the product recall of Bovril.

Manufacturer Unilever said the company is recalling 15,000 jars and 72 plastic tubs 'as a precautionary measure'.

The products being recalled are 250g glass jars of Bovril Beef Extract with a best-before-end date of January 2010 and 600g plastic tubs.

A Unilever spokesman said: 'We have decided to take the precaution of issuing a product recall after routine internal quality checks identified traces of salmonella in a small number of products.

'The health and safety of our consumers is paramount and we would like to reassure them that only a small volume of production has been affected.

'We have launched an immediate investigation and we are working closely with the FSA and relevant authorities to ensure this does not happen again.

'This is an isolated incident and no other Bovril or Unilever products are affected. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.'