Issued By Durham County Council

FOOD ALERT ON SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS

Consumers in County Durham were put on a food safety alert today after tinned Shiitake mushrooms were found to be contaminated.

The warning from Durham County Council's Consumer Services applies to Pagoda Brand Po-Ku Shiitake mushrooms in cans numbered

L 7 1 011026 846

Routine safety checks carried out by the FSA - Food Standards Agency - found that the batch, which was originally shipped to Northern Ireland, contained high levels of the bacteria Staphylococcus spp.

Now Consumer Services officers, working with district council environmental health officers, are making sure all stock is removed from shelves.

Phillip Holman, the County Council's Head of Consumer Services, said:  "We were informed that the majority of the infected batch was shipped to Northern Ireland, but only a small part of the consignment has been recovered and some may well have found their way to the County.

"The risk to consumers is small but the FSA decided that the levels of contamination still posed an unacceptable risk to public health," he said.

Councillor Don Ross, Deputy Leader of the County Council, said:  "We are advising consumers and retailers to check carefully for this product and, as a precaution, dispose of it."

Pagoda Brand Po-Ku canned Shiitake mushrooms are packed in 284 gram tins with the can code number on the lid.