It comes after an adult in the Republic of Ireland died following an outbreak of listeriosis linked to a recall of 141 different ready-made meals sold in major retail supermarkets there.
The Food Safety Authority (FSAI) of Ireland have said that there were nine cases of listeriosis confirmed as of Tuesday, July 22.
A spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Northern Ireland said they have “been made aware of an investigation by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, involving an outbreak of listeriosis potentially linked to ready-to-heat meals”.
“A precautionary food product recall by Ballymaguire Foods is underway, which includes a number of food products for sale in Northern Ireland.”
“Consumers are advised not to eat the products if they have bought them, and to return them to the store for a full refund.”
A listeria monocytogenes bacterium (Elizabeth White/CDC via AP)
No confirmed cases of listeriosis have been recorded in Northern Ireland in relation to the outbreak at the time of publication, but many shops and outlets are taking precautions and warning customers of the recall regardless.
Ballymaguire Foods is a company based in Co Dublin that creates ready meals which are then marketed under the private label brands of its customers, which include the likes of Tesco and Supervalu.
As such, Ballymaguire Foods is recalling various brands of prepared meals and side dishes because they may contain Listeria monocytogenes.
Listeriosis is an infection caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. It is usually acquired by eating contaminated food.
Symptoms caused can be similar to flu and include high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea.
Supermarket (stock image)
However, in rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications, such as meningitis.
The recalled products sold in Centra, Supervalu, Tesco and various other stores have been produced by Ballymaguire Foods.
Items listed include chicken pasta bakes, turkey and ham dinners, spaghetti bolognese, beef stroganoff, chicken carbonara, beef lasagne, pilau rice and more.
The ‘Good Food Locally Sourced’ range, which can be found at Mace and Centra stores, as well as Musgrave Marketplace, is one such brand affected.
Centra’s ‘Clean Cut’ range also has affected products, as does many of Tesco and SuperValu’s own branded meals.
The list of recalled products is available here and here.