Thursday, 21 January 2021
In recent years a number of ready-to-eat (RTE) spreads and dip have been linked to foodborne illness worldwide.
The aim of this survey was to investigate the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter, Enterobacteriaceae, and Escherichia coli (an indicator of faecal contamination) in commonly consumed, refrigerated, RTE spreads and dips.
A total of 1,063 samples of RTE refrigerated, vegetable, meat and fish-based spreads and dips were collected over a 4-month period in 2018 by Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) in the Environmental Health Service of the HSE. Samples were taken from distributors and transporters, manufacturers and packers, primary producers, retailers and the services sector in the Republic of Ireland. The microbiological analyses were performed by seven accredited official food microbiology laboratories operating under the Food Safety Laboratory Service of the HSE.
