Salmonella outbreak: Pork snacks linked to 176 salmonella cases – what are the symptoms?
Salmonella bacteria explained and how to prevent it
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Pork scratchings led to at least 12 hospitalisations and almost 200 people falling ill according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Salmonella symptoms can be a huge inconvenience or in some cases so severe they may lead to hospitalisation. Younger generations and those with weakened immune systems tend to experience the worst reactions to salmonella bacteria.
A selection of pork scratchings products from brands Mr Porky, Jay’s and The Real Pork Crackling Company have been recalled and withdrawn from sale after being linked to a salmonella outbreak.
A total of 176 people have fallen ill as a result of the outbreak with 12 reportedly hospitalised.
The snacks, made by the Tayto Group at its Bolton-based factory, have been linked to the outbreak.
The FSA has warned the public not to eat several pork scratchings products made by the factory.
The advice applies to some products with best-before dates of up to and including February 19, 2022.
The FSA said testing found a link between 176 cases between September 2020 and now.
Production was voluntarily halted at the factory linked to the outbreak after a possible link was identified earlier this month, the organisation said.
Tina Potter, head of incidents at the FSA said: “We are advising consumers not to eat any of the products listed in the FSA alert.
“It is really important that consumers follow this advice to avoid the risk of becoming ill with salmonella poisoning.
“The food business involved has voluntarily suspended its production to put additional controls in place to improve the safety of their products and they have decided on a voluntary basis to withdraw and recall all of the products within shelf-life produced at this site.”
Dr Lesley Larkin, of the gastrointestinal pathogens unit at Public Health England said investigations linked the cases to the pork scratchings products.
Dr Larkin said: “We have established a link between the 176 cases based on the analysis of data obtained through whole genome sequencing and epidemiological investigations.
“These investigations, together with those carried out by local authorities, have indicated the source of infection is pork scratchings produced by a single company in the UK.
“The Food Standards Agency has acted on these findings to mitigate any further risk to public health from the contaminated food.”
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What is salmonella poisoning?
Salmonella are bacteria which make people sick.
This bacterial infection affects the intestinal tract.
Salmonella bacteria typically live in animal and human intestines and are shed through faeces.
Humans become infected most often through water or food.
What are the symptoms of salmonella poisoning?
The most common signs and symptoms of salmonella include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Abdominal cramps
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Chills
- Headache
- Blood in the stool.
Symptoms of the virus typically last two to seven days.
Diarrhea can last up to 10 days and it may take several months for your bowels to return to normal.
In rarer cases, salmonella bacteria can lead to typhoid fever which is a deadly disease in some countries.
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