Listeria Becomes an International Headline Again

Virgin Blue and Maple Leaf – the company which stocked products responsible for a listeria outbreak that killed 22 last year – have both reported possible listeria outbreaks in food served to customers this week.

Contamination of an ingredient supplied to a food manufacturer is believed to be behind the scare in Australia, which could affect Virgin Blue airline passengers who travelled in May and June.

Passengers who ate chicken wraps provided by the manufacturer, and those that bought over the counter at food retail outlets in Queensland, could be affected, according to Queensland Health.

The deadly bacteria can take 70 days to incubate and pregnant women and people with suppressed immunity are most at risk of suffering from its affect.

An investigation is currently trying to discover where the bacteria originated from.

Listeria is found in cold meat and cold cooked chicken as well as pre-packaged salad, soft cheese and unpasteurised dairy products, pate and chilled seafood.

On Tuesday this week, US food producer Maple Leaf recalled nine of its hotdog products saying it believed low levels of the bacteria could be present in the product.