Three separate Spar products sold in Northern Ireland stores only are being recalled because of the contamination, which makes them unsafe to eat.
Customers have been urged not to consume the contents of packs of ‘Enjoy Local Cooked Chicken Pieces 150g’, ‘Enjoy Local Cooked Chicken Slices 150g’ or ‘Enjoy Local Cooked Chicken Fillets 300g’ with a batch code of 5126 and a best before date of 21 May 2025.
Instead, customers that have purchased an impacted pack should return it to any Spar store for a full refund.
To alert customers, Spar is displaying point of sale notices in stores that sell the impacted products which explain why the recall was announced.
“This recall issue affects three specific ‘Enjoy Local Cooked Chicken’ lines which are only stocked by the Henderson Group in SPAR Northern Ireland,” the retailer said.
“The supplier and Hendersons have worked directly with the Food Standards Agency and the affected stores in NI to initiate the product recall as quickly as possible.
“No SPAR UK stores in England, Scotland or Wales are affected by this recall or any other SPAR products beyond those identified in the Food Standards Agency announcement.”
People that ingest Listeria monocytogenes bacteria can develop Listeriosis, an infection that can lead to symptoms such as a high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea. However, in some cases the infection can be more severe and cause serious complications such as meningitis.
Some people are more vulnerable to Listeriosis infections, including those over 65 years of age, pregnant women and their unborn babies, babies less than one month old and people with weakened immune systems.
According to new data from the UK Health Security Agency, there were 179 reported cases of Listeriosis in England and Wales during 2024.
This represents a marginal increase when compared to the year prior when 177 cases were reported. Of the 28 deaths that resulted from the 142 non-pregnancy cases, 12 were people above the age of 80.
In other news, a cheese product sold at Tesco is being recalled because of the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
