SSI
Sausage Roll has been the cause of a disease outbreak with listeria. This shows a large-scale investigation work, which has been carried out in close collaboration between the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, the Statens Serum Institut and the DTU Food Institute, assisted by Danish Crown. The sausage has been recalled and is no longer in stores.
Since the New Year, we in Denmark have registered significantly more patients infected with listeria than usual.
Laboratory analyzes have shown that it is due to two simultaneous disease outbreaks, where patients have become ill from two different types of listeria. The source of infection for one outbreak has now been identified.
A total of eight people had been infected in the outbreak, of which one has died as a result of the infection.
“We have just found a match between eight cases of disease and listeria from a Danish Crown company in Oldenburg, Germany, which produces rolled sausage. Seven of the eight patients were interviewed and they had all eaten sausage rolls. When we have subsequently been in contact with the supermarkets in which the patients had shopped, we have found that rolled sausage from Danish Crown in Oldenburg went again in several places, ”says Annette Perge, section manager at the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration.
All sausages rolled back
A little over a week ago, Danish Crown recalled all sausage products produced after 1 June from the market. It happened because the company had found listeria in the production at the company in Oldenburg. The company has assisted with the clarification work with samples from the company.
”DTU Fødevareinstituttet, SSI and Fødevarestyrelsen have analyzed and compared the listeria bacteria found in the patients and in sausage rolls from the company in Oldenburg, using DNA typing. The bacteria turned out to be exactly the same, and compared with the patients having stated that they have eaten sausage, you can be sure that the infection has come from the sausage, ”says Steen Ethelberg, senior researcher at the Statens Serum Institut.
The detective work continues
Although no new cases of the disease have been recorded in the two outbreaks in the past month, work continues to find the source of the infection for the second outbreak.
“We test to locate the source of the second outbreak and work continuously to guide companies on preventive measures in food production to avoid getting listeria in cold cuts,” says senior researcher and research group leader Marianne Sandberg, DTU Food Institute.
See what types of sausage rolls have been recalled here .
