THE FOOD SAFETY Authority of Ireland has issued a recall for a range of Irish unwashed spinach products following the discovery of a bug-causing bacteria.

The authority has warned consumers about two batches of spinach and mixed leaves sold in Irish supermarkets following the detection of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

Batches with the Julienne code 260 and 261 sold in Lidl, Aldi, Dunnes Stores, Tesco, and Supervalu and with ‘best before’ dates ranging from 22 to 26 September are implicated.

They include:

• Oaklands Irish baby leaf spinach (250g) with ‘use by’ dates 23, 24 and 25 September, sold in Lidl
• Aldi brand Irish baby leaf spinach (250g) with ‘use by’ dates 22, 23, and 24 September
• Dunnes Stores brand fresh ‘ready to wash’ spinach leaves (100g) with ‘use by’ date 26 September
• McCormack ‘Loose & Lively’ spinach leaves (100g and 200g) with ’use by’ dates 22, 23, 24 and 25 September, sold in Dunnes Stores
• McCormack ‘Loose & Lively’ baby leaves (500g and 1kg) with ’use by’ dates 22, 23, 24 and 25 September, sold in Dunnes Stores
• Dunnes Stores brand fresh ‘ready to wash’ mixed leaves (75g and 100g) with ‘use by’ date 26 September
• Egan’s mixed leaves (75g) with ‘use by’ dates 22, 23 and 24 September, sold in Aldi
• McCormack ‘Loose & Lively’ mixed leaves (75g and 100g) with ‘use by’ date 26 September, sold in Tesco and Supervalu

Retailers are advising customers to dispose of affected packs, while the FSAI has also warned that some unwashed spinach products distributed to caterers are also implicated.