A popular meal kit provider has issued a warning to hundreds of customers that its salads could be contaminated with listeria bacteria.
On Monday, HelloFresh sent alarming text messages to Western Australian customers who received the pre-portioned ingredients.
A listeria infection (listeriosis) rarely affects healthy people, but it can be fatal to fetuses or newborns and to people with weakened immune systems.
The statement said a supplier notified the company of a “food safety issue with mixed salad or baby spinach” early Monday.
She added that the vegetables can be “harmful if consumed” and urged customers to “throw the product away.”
“If you have already consumed this prescription and are concerned, please contact us or seek medical advice,” the text reads.
Customers were given $5 credit per bag of spinach or salad toward future orders.
A HelloFresh spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that “the safety and quality of our ingredients is our top priority.”
International meal kit provider HelloFresh has issued an urgent warning to WA customers after packets of spinach and mixed greens may have been contaminated with Listeria bacteria.
The spokesperson confirmed the contaminated batch only affected Western Australia and that other ingredients were safe to consume.
“We immediately informed all of our WA customers who received prescriptions that included mixed salad or baby spinach from 5 September 2024 to 8 September 2024 and asked them to discard the ingredient immediately,” the spokesperson said.
Customer Nick Mitchell He told Perth Now he was very concerned after receiving the alarming text message this week.
Perth’s father immediately called HelloFresh for answers and was told that listeria could have been the contamination.
The alarm was raised after a supplier notified HelloFresh of a “food safety issue in the mixed salad or baby spinach” (file image)
The issue spread to Reddit, where users said they also received the HelloFresh alert.
“I got the same email, but after I had already eaten it,” one wrote, adding that “his stomach is not happy.”
The user later reported experiencing “rotten egg burps” and “vomited a few times,” symptoms of food poisoning not specific to listeriosis.
Listeria bacteria are found in soil, water, and animal feces and can survive refrigeration and freezing.
Despite being a particularly rare foodborne infection, advanced cases of listeriosis have a high mortality rate of between 20 and 30 percent.
The Listeria bacteria (pictured) can cause listeriosis, a rare infection that has a 30 percent mortality rate if it spreads to the nervous system.
The first signs of infection may take more than 30 days to appear after consumption.
Common symptoms include fever, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
However, the bacteria can spread to the nervous system, where it becomes much more dangerous and can cause headaches, neck stiffness, confusion, loss of balance and seizures.
According to NSW Health, about a third of patients who reach this stage die.
Pregnant women and fetuses, newborns, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems, such as HIV or cancer patients, are at particular risk.
Despite notifying customers of the recall, neither Food Standards Australia and New Zealand nor HelloFresh have posted any alerts on their social media accounts.
Health professionals should “urgently” report a suspected diagnosis of listeriosis to WA Health, which has not yet issued an alert for any case.
