One dead in Irish Listeria outbreak

One person has died in a Listeria outbreak linked to ready meals in the Republic of Ireland.

Nine confirmed cases of listeriosis have been identified. The Health Service Executive (HSE) Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) is investigating the death of an adult with confirmed listeriosis.

A national outbreak control team is investigating the “extensive” outbreak but no demographic details about patients have been released.

A recall of prepared meals and side dishes produced by Ballymaguire Foods is underway because of a link with the outbreak. The first recall was on June 30 and it has been expanded several times since.

Various brands are affected and products were sold at Tesco, Supervalu, Centra, and Aldi stores. Recalled meals include spaghetti carbonara, beef lasagna, chicken curry, chicken pie, cottage pie and mashed potato. Hundreds of products were recalled. A full list can be found here.

The recall also includes all best before dates and batch codes of several items sold in Northern Ireland.

Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated products. They should also check their freezers for the meals and dispose of them.

Production suspended
In a statement, Ballymaguire Foods said it has initiated a recall of all products made at one facility following the identification of Listeria as part of a quality control check.

“Incidents of this nature are extremely rare for us. We are treating it with the utmost seriousness and are working closely with all parties to manage the situation swiftly and responsibly. As a precautionary measure, and in line with our rigorous response protocols, we made the decision on Saturday to temporarily suspend all production at the affected facility,” the company statement says.

“Our internal team, supported by independent external experts, conducted a comprehensive assessment and implemented immediate corrective actions. These included a full pharmaceutical-grade clean down of the facility. In consultation with the relevant statutory bodies and our customers, we will resume production once it is confirmed safe to do so. We sincerely apologize to our customers and consumers for the concern this may cause.”

Ireland recorded two cases of listeriosis in the first quarter of 2025 and 22 infections in all of 2024.

The outbreak control team is chaired by the HSE National Health Protection Office and includes the HSE National Environmental Health Service, the HSE Regional Public Health Services, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, the National Salmonella, Shigella and Listeria Reference Laboratory, and the National Reference Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Irish officials have also been looking into a hepatitis A outbreak.

Between December 2024 and April 2025, an outbreak of hepatitis A genotype IA was investigated. There were 18 cases, including 14 hospitalizations. The food vehicle was not definitively identified but authorities believe transmission was foodborne due to the geographical and temporal distribution of the 14 primary cases, with onwards spread to four secondary cases. 

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here)

Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/07/one-dead-in-irish-listeria-outbreak/