3 dead and 2 hospitalised after food poisoning outbreak linked to NHS desserts

5 comments

1. Always have the ice cream.

2. #NHS Dessert Horror: Three Dead, Two in Hospital After Listeria Outbreak

   A deadly food poisoning outbreak linked to NHS hospital desserts has claimed the lives of three people and left two others seriously ill in hospital. Health officials have identified the culprit as Listeria monocytogenes, a dangerous bacterium that can prove fatal for those with weakened immune systems.

   The outbreak, which unfolded between May and December last year, has sparked a nationwide investigation by the UK Health Security Agency and the Food Standards Agency. The cases were flagged in NHS hospitals across Yorkshire and Humber, the North West, the West Midlands, and Wales. All five patients, aged between 68 and 89, were already in hospital with underlying health conditions when they fell ill.

   Suspicion has fallen on mousses and ice creams supplied by Cool Delight Desserts, a company that provides sweet treats to NHS hospitals and care homes. As a precaution, the Food Standards Agency has now recalled all chilled desserts made by the company, including ice cream, ice cream rolls, mousses, and yoghurts.

   Hospitals have been ordered to withdraw the products immediately and quarantine any remaining stock while investigations continue. Last month, routine testing at an NHS hospital in the South West detected listeria in two Cool Delight mousse flavours, though the levels were below the regulatory threshold. Even at low levels, however, the bacterium poses a serious risk to vulnerable patients, including the elderly, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems.

   Listeriosis, the infection caused by listeria, can trigger severe symptoms such as high fever, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, and diarrhoea. In pregnant women, it can lead to miscarriage or stillbirth, while newborns and people with compromised immune systems are at risk of life-threatening complications such as sepsis and meningitis.

   A spokesperson for Cool Delight Desserts has said the company is cooperating fully with investigators but declined to comment further until the inquiry is complete. Meanwhile, health officials are urging hospitals and care homes to remain vigilant and remove all affected products from their menus immediately.

   For now, the source of the contamination remains under scrutiny, but with three lives already lost, authorities are under pressure to find answers and prevent further tragedies.

3. What tends to happen in these circumstances is the food company folds pretty much immediately, as being implicated in a hygiene scandal leads everyone to cancel their contracts without waiting around for proof. Can be really harsh if it turns out to have been something else.

4. This is so sad, rest in peace to the victims

5. That’s the waiting list reduced by 3

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