Woolworths recalls rice mix after Europe listeria alert

Woolworths has recalled its frozen savoury rice mix following a listeria outbreak alert in Europe.

The food outlet has taken the rice mix sourced from Belgium off their shelves as a precautionary measure, according to Woolworths South Africa.

The mix has sweetcorn from a Greenyard factory in Hungary that may have been the source of a listeria outbreak.

Photo: Woolworths

The company said they took this issue very seriously and that this was a safety concern, with no other food products affected.

The Hungarian Food Safety Agency also recalled some of their products as a precautionary measure recently.

Woolworths said the Frozen Savoury Rice Mix product (6009173621740) sourced from the Greenyard Factory in a Hungarian factory was taken off their shelves and flagged, and that any attempt to purchase the products would not work.

The rice mix is uncooked and frozen, and requires cooking before consumption.

“We are voluntarily recalling this product as a precautionary measure, on the global instruction of the Hungarian Food Safety Agency.”

The store said their suppliers managed and prevented microbial contamination of food, with strict protocols in place as part of their standard food safety’s management process.

“To verify the safety of our food products, we implement additional monitoring where we independently have our food products tested randomly,” the store said, adding the testing included listeria checks.

Customers who have purchased the products are urged to return the product to their local store for a full refund.

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