South Australians are being urged to return or dispose of certain brands of cheese after a number of products were found to have E.coli above permitted levels.
The Department for Health and Wellbeing’s Executive Director of Health Protection and Licensing Services, Dr Chris Lease, said the recall is a precautionary measure and affected products are already being removed from sale.
“E.coli is a common contaminant and is often tested for by industry to ensure compliance with Food Standards,” Dr Lease said.
“During routine testing, three products were found to exceed the allowable limits of E.coli and therefore the decision has been made to recall all products produced during the same production period.
“We have no evidence that the form of E.coli present is dangerous however the businesses decided to initiate a recall.
“As a precaution, anyone who has purchased these products should return them to the place of purchase for a full refund or throw them away.”
The full recall includes the following products with Best Before dates of 29JAN20 up to and including 05FEB20:
- Udder Delights Camembert 200g
- Udder Delights Brie 200g
- Udder Delights Double Cream Brie 200g
- Udder Delights Ash Brie 200g
- Cremeux Provincial Cheese Double Brie 200g
- Cremeux Provincial Cheese Brie 200g
- Cremeux Provincial Cheese Camembert 200g
- Divine Dairy Organic Brie 200g
- Divine Dairy Organic Double Cream Brie 200g
- Eureka Camembert 200g
- Shale Point Double Cream Camembert 200g
E.coli is a bacterium commonly found in the intestines and faeces of people and many animals and symptoms of an infection may include diarrhoea, nausea or abdominal cramps.
The only affected products from the relevant production period available in South Australia, available from independent retail stores and Coles supermarkets are:
- Cremeux Provincial Cheese Camembert 200g
- Cremeux Provincial Cheese Brie 200g
- Cremeux Provincial Cheese Double Brie 200g
- Udder Delights Ash Brie 200g
There are many different strains of E.coli, some cause no illness at all while others can have more serious complications.
