NHS patients should not be fed pre-packed sandwiches according to the boss of the meat firm at the centre of the listeria scandal.
Jeff Thomas insists patients should not be given sandwiches in line because of the potential risk of listeria.
According to Government advice listeria is ONLY a danger to people who are sick, elderly, pregnant or vulnerable.
And yet hospitals caring for the sick, elderly, pregnant and vulnerable continue to hand out pre-packed sandwiches.
Six people have died having eaten sandwiches which are believed to have contained the listeria bug.
The sandwiches were supplied by The Good Food Chain, who used meat supplied to them by North County Quality Foods and North Country Cooked Meats.
Thomas is MD of the North Country Group and has immediately ceased production whilst authorities investigate.
He told The Mirror: “This is an outrage and those people should never have been given prepacked sandwiches.
“Government advice is listeria can be serious for the vulnerable, so why are prepacked sandwiches served in the hospital.”
It is not uncommon for listeria to exist in pre-packed sandwiches but, providing manufacturing, processing and storage procedures are followed correctly along with use-by dates, the risk is minimal.
In fact, it is accepted that listeria will be present in virtually everyone’s home but the risk to health remains low.
Food standards agencies have now launched an investigation into the listeria. They will attempt to locate the source of the outbreak.
North Country Group will remain closed until the investigation is complete.
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