Precautionary advice on cooking frozen vegetables following Europe-wide listeriosis outbreak

Precautionary advice on cooking frozen vegetables following Europe-wide listeriosis outbreak

The Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, Public Health England and Health Protection Scotland are reminding people that most frozen vegetables, including sweetcorn, need to be cooked before eating. This includes if adding them to salads, smoothies or dips.

People should always follow manufacturers’ instructions when preparing their food. If the product is not labelled as “ready to eat”, the cooking instructions should always be followed before eating the food hot or cold.

Frozen sweetcorn is the likely source of an ongoing outbreak of listeriosis affecting five European countries including the United Kingdom. Listeriosis is a rare but serious foodborne illness caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes that can be more serious for those individuals who have weakened immune systems and also the elderly, pregnant women and infants. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have today provided an update on the multi-country listeriosis outbreak.