Morrisons recalls meat that 'could cause meningitis'

Morrisons customers are being warned not to eat a prepared meat product bought from the store over concerns it could cause serious illness.

The supermarket chain is recalling all 150g packs of Ready to Eat Peppered Beef Slices with a use-by date of Feb 21 2017.

The packs are thought to have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause flu-like symptoms including high temperature, muscle aches, sickness and diarrhoea. In rare cases, infection can cause serious complications including meningitis.

The Food Standards Agency warned that those aged over 65, pregnant women and their unborn babies, babies less than a month old and people with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable to listeria infections.

The FSA says: "If you have bought the above product do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund."

A spokesman for Morrisons said: "Our routine testing has identified the presence of low levels of Listeria in this product. We are asking all customers who have bought this use-by date of this product not to consume it and to return it to their nearest Morrisons store where they will receive a full refund."

Separately, it was reported today that more than a quarter of abattoirs fail to take basic hygiene precautions to prevent contaminated meat reaching butchers and supermarkets.

Consumers could be at risk of acute food poisoning from exposure to E.coli, salmonella or campylobacter due to breaches identified at the slaughterhouses.

Analysis of government audits at 323 abattoirs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by The Observer and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism identified failings at 86 of them.