Salmonella scare plant to close for sterilisation

THE meat plant at the centre of a salmonella scare is to shut down all production to allow the premises to be sterilised.

Dawn Farm Foods, which employs 500 workers, has had one production line out of action for two weeks due to the investigation into the outbreak, but said last night it was voluntarily suspending all operations to bring in expert cleaning consultants.

The company said the cleaning would be of “pharmaceutical grade” and would take up to a week to complete with production recommencing on a phased basis.

While Dawn Farm Foods remains the only confirmed link to the salmonella which has caused illness in at least 119 people here, in Britain and in Finland; investigators suspect the outbreak originated elsewhere.

Jeff Moon, head of consumer protection at the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said: “Not all the people [who fell ill] link to the type of produce we are talking about here. We might have another supplier that we don’t know about yet. Dawn Farm Foods is only where we have a definite link.”

A source said investigators were examining an animal feeds mill and a river in Britain. One possibility is that droppings from birds, which can carry salmonella, got into animal feed stores and sewage containing the bacteria got into the river.

The FSAI yesterday issued a warning about several more food items feared to contain contaminated meats. They are pre-packaged tubs of salad with an August 18 use-by date — a smoky bacon and creamy pasta salad from the Superquinn To Go range and the chicken and bacon salad and bacon and sweetcorn pasta salad from the Spar Signature Selection.

A further 21 bacon and chicken products supplied to catering and wholesale businesses were also recalled, bringing to 51 the number of batches recalled.

Mr Moon said it was impossible to say whether further recalls would be necessary. “It’s certainly complicated because of the wide spread of people affected and the wide period of time over which people have been ill. It’s very difficult to say when this is going to be over.”

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said: “As it may take several weeks from onset of illness to the results of detailed molecular analysis, it is expected that more cases fitting the case definition will be diagnosed.”

In a statement Dawn Farm Foods said: “This is the first incident of its kind for Dawn Farm Foods in its 25 years in operation and we are working closely with the authorities and international experts to ensure that... all efforts are made to protect consumer health and maintain consumer confidence.”