Three people have died in the past two years from eating sausage contaminated with listeria bacteria, Dutch health authorities on Friday said.
The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) added that listeriosis also had resulted in a miscarriage.
Listeriosis is particularly dangerous for pregnant women, infants, elderly people and those with a weaker immune system.
The infection is caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes.
READ ALSO: Keeping cats as pets can aggravate asthma attack- Expert
The RIVM believes the contaminated sausages came from a Dutch company in Aalsmeer.
The company was temporarily closed down by the authorities.
Twenty cases of listeria infection from sausage products have been reported in the Netherlands in the last two years, the RIVM said.
The food inspectorate then used new technology to identify the source. “At present, it is almost certain that the source has been found,” the RIVM announced.
The Aalsmeer Company had recalled around 130 kinds of cold cuts from supermarkets because contamination with listeria could not be ruled out, Dutch media reported on Thursday.
In Germany, two fatal cases, also caused by consumption of contaminated sausage, were reported recently. It is still unclear if there is a connection between the cases.
According to the Dutch company’s website it also exported sausage products to Germany and Belgium. (NAN)
