Three DEAD, five sickened by severe food poisoning after eating chocolate dessert – UK health chiefs launch probe
Three people have died and two hospitalised amid an outbreak of dangerous listeria linked to a chocolate dessert supplied to NHS hospitals.
The cases are not confined to a specific area of the UK, and instead have been reported across the country, according to UK health and food watchdogs.
Officials suspect mousses and ice creams made by Cool Delight Desserts to be the source of the outbreak of the diarrhoea-causing bug.
All chilled desserts including ice cream, ice cream cream rolls, mousses and yoghurts supplied by the company to the NHS and care homes have now been recalled by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as a precaution.
Hospital staff have also been urged to check ward fridges to ensure products are removed, according to alerts sent to NHS trusts seen by MailOnline.
The patients, who were identified between May and December 2024, were aged between 68 and 89-years-old, according to the FSA.
Two were in Yorkshire and Humber, one in the North West, another in the West Midlands, and the fifth was in Wales.
Only one of the three victims, however, had listeria monocytogenes reported as the cause of death.
The FSA said the bacterium had been detected in two different mousse flavours — chocolate and vanilla and strawberry and vanilla — last month during routine testing at an NHS hospital in the South West of England
The patients, who were identified between May and December 2024, were aged between 68 and 89-year-old, according to the FSA. All had underlying immunocompromising health conditions and were hospitalised
All five cases had underlying immunocompromising health conditions and were hospitalised.
Health chiefs are still probing the outbreak to determine whether any other sources could be to blame.
Listeriosis is a serious infection usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium listeria monocytogenes.
The FSA said the bacterium had been detected in two different mousse flavours — chocolate and vanilla and strawberry and vanilla — last month during routine testing at an NHS hospital in the South West of England.
Levels of listeria monocytogenes were below the regulatory threshold of 100 colony forming units per gram (CFU/g).
However, ‘severely immunocompromised patients in hospitals and other health care settings’ are ‘more likely to suffer severe symptoms from listeria infection’, the FSA noted.
A representative from Cool Delight Desserts today told Food Safety News that the company was in ongoing discussions with the FSA and was unable to comment until the investigations were concluded.
Dr Gauri Godbole, deputy director for gastrointestinal infections, food safety and one health at UKHSA, told MailOnline: “We are investigating a small number of cases of listeria. The cause of the outbreak isn’t confirmed yet.
Those who eat food containing listeria develop an infection called listeriosis, which can cause a fever, aches and pains, chills, nausea, sickness and diarrhoea
‘However, our laboratory testing has identified a potential link to a particular type of dessert, which is not available from retailers but is served in some NHS Trusts.
‘Working with the FSA, on a precautionary basis, we have advised NHS Trusts and those providing care to vulnerable people to stop serving these desserts while investigations are underway.’
MailOnline has also approached NHS England for comment.
Food contaminated with listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled but can still cause serious and sometimes life-threatening infections.
For most people, listeria poisoning can be similar to flu and include high temperature, muscle ache or pain, chills and feeling or being sick.
Usually symptoms recede after a few days.
However, listeriosis poses a particular threat to the elderly, pregnant women and babies.
In rarer cases the infection can be more severe, causing life-threatening complications, such as meningitis.
Many foods can harbour listeria, but it is usually found in unpasteurised milk, soft cheeses and ready-to-eat foods, such as prepacked sandwiches.
Listeria is widespread in the environment and can be found in raw food and soil, and in the droppings of many mammals, birds, and fish.
According to the latest available data, a total of 177 cases of listeriosis were reported in England and Wales in 2023.
Some 32 deaths were recorded, of which 11 had listeriosis recorded as a cause of death on the death certificate.
Seven outbreaks in total were investigated including national wave associated with smoked fish, semi-soft cheese and beef products.
Meanwhile in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that around 1,600 people get listeriosis each year.
