A warning dating back from July 2018 is spreading again about a frozen vegetable recall with many social media users believing it to be a recent recall.
In July 2018, Aldi, Lidl, Iceland, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose recalled several frozen vegetable products amid fears they could have been tainted with Listeria monocytogenes, a potentially fatal bacteria that could affect humans that consume tainted vegetables that have not been cooked properly.
However many reports have continued to spread across social media with users believing they refer to recent recall. Specifically, an article on PoliceHour.co.uk that begins with the alarmist headline Urgent National Frozen Veg Recall after nine dead.
That headline is alarmist. The nine deaths refers to the number of people who have died from a Listeria monocytogenes infection in Europe over the last three years (2015-June 2018, two in the UK), as opposed to the number of people who have died as a result of consuming those specific recalled products.
In order to avoid infection, the European Food Safety Authority advises consumers to thoroughly cook non-ready-to-eat frozen vegetables as per their instructions.