Ballymaguire Foods suspends production at affected facility following listeriosis-linked death
Eva Osborne and Vivienne Clarke
Ready meal manufacturer Ballymaguire Foods has temporarily suspended production at its affected facility after a person died following an "extensive outbreak" of listeriosis.
Nine other cases have been confirmed in recent days, leading to over 200 food products being recalled.
In a statement, Ballymaguire Foods apologised to customers and confirmed that production would be temporarily suspended at the affected facility.
"Incidents of this nature are extremely rare for us. We are treating it with the utmost seriousness and are working closely with all parties to manage the situation swiftly and responsibly.
"Immediately upon identifying the issue, we informed our retail and foodservice customers and engaged with all relevant authorities, including the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), the Health Service Executive (HSE), and our regional Environmental Health Officer.
"Through our retail partners, all products are being withdrawn from the shelves, and a full consumer communication process is underway.
"As a precautionary measure, and in line with our rigorous response protocols, we made the decision on Saturday to temporarily suspend all production at the affected facility."
The food manufacturer said its internal team conducted a comprehensive assessment and implemented "immediate corrective actions", including a "full pharmaceutical-grade clean down of the facility".
"In consultation with the relevant statutory bodies and our customers, we will resume production once it is confirmed safe to do so.
"We sincerely apologise to our customers and consumers for the concern this may cause."
'Food has never been safer'
The former head of the Food Safety Authority (FSA), Professor Alan Reilly, has highlighted the extensive safety regulations and control systems in the food industry and said that food has never been safer.
Prof Reilly was speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today show about the recent outbreak of listeriosis.
“Food has never been safer and the regulations and the control systems that the industry put in place and the auditing of those control systems that are carried out by the regulatory authorities, it's never been better," he said.
“But really, it is not possible to comment on the actual outbreak itself because it's still under investigation and I really do wish them a speedy outcome for that investigation.”
When asked about the potential impact on the business at the centre of the recall and the possibility of job losses, Professor Reilly said that if the “financial hit” was significant, the company could go out of business.
“But I think if they have the systems in place, they should be able to recover. Indeed, looking back over the numbers of food crises or foodborne outbreaks that we've had, in most cases the companies do recover.”
Professor Reilly outlined the measures that will now have to be taken to investigate the root cause and the procedures to carry out a deep clean of the premises where the outbreak originated so that the factory can resume safe production.
