Testing conducted by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) at a Premier Foods factory and on batches of the sauce was unable to produce any evidence of Clostridium botulinum – a bacterium which can cause botulism.
Premier Foods recalled 47,000 jars of the korma sauce from supermarkets, after a jar was found to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum bacterium.
The company has promised full cooperation with the FSA, the Health Protection Agency and Health Protection Scotland as they investigate what happened to the contaminated jar once it left Premier Foods’ control.
One jar
A Premier Foods spokesperson told FoodProductionDaily.com: “Following its investigation the FSA has said that there is nothing to suggest that the contamination has come from the factory.”
“The FSA has told us that there is no problem with the factory and the facilities – what we are dealing with is one jar.”
“What Premier Foods and the health authorities are trying to establish now is, what could have happened to that one jar once it left the company’s control,” added the spokesperson.
FoodProductionDaily.com reported earlier in the week that two members of the same family had been struck down with the illness in Scotland after eating the contaminated jar of sauce.
Further reports have suggested that a third member of the family has been hospitalised with suspected botulism poisoning.
Symptoms of botulism can include a combination of blurred vision, difficulty swallowing and speaking, followed by general muscle weakness.
Product and process confidence
“We are pleased that the FSA has found nothing, to date, to suggest that a problem occurred in our factory and we remain confident in the quality of our products and processes,” said Premier Foods Group Supply Chain Director, Bob Spooner in an official statement.
“We remain very concerned for the family involved and very much hope the children recover fully.”
“The company will continue to assist the authorities in any way we can to help find the true cause of the contamination.”
The FSA is urging consumers who purchased the Korma sauce, with the batch code 1218R and a best before date of February 2013, not to eat the product.