LAST UPDATE | 23 Jul 2025

MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS ARE investigating the death of an adult with confirmed listeriosis.

It comes as the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has recalled ready-made meals from supermarkets across Ireland over concerns of the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

Investigations are ongoing into a potentially ‘extensive outbreak’ of listeriosis, which arises from an infection from Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, the food safety agency said today.

Symptoms can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications.

Nine cases of listeriosis had been confirmed as of Tuesday.

The HSE’s health surveillance experts have been notified and are investigating the death of the adult, the Food Safety Authority has confirmed.

Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria monocytogenes infections, including pregnant women, babies, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly.

The incubation period (time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing) is on average three weeks but can range between three and 70 days.

As a precaution, it has recalled 141 different ready-made meals and side dishes sold in major supermarkets across Ireland due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

The meals are made and distributed by Ballymaguire Foods. In a statement, the firm confirmed that a quality control check identified listeria bacteria at one of its facilities.

“Incidents of this nature are extremely rare for us. We are treating it with the utmost seriousness and are working closely with all parties to manage the situation swiftly and responsibly,” it said.

Meals recalled

Ballymaguire Foods’ products have been sold in Centra, Supervalu, Tesco, and Aldi, among others. While it is the producer of the meals, the brands vary. 

The following own-brand meals are impacted:

• Tesco‘s own brand ready meals, within their ranges ‘Irish Classics’, ‘Meals made easy’, ‘Classic Kitchen’, ‘Finest’, and ‘Tesco’.
• Supervalu‘s ranges ‘Signature taste’, ‘Freshly Prepared’, and ‘Supervalu’ also contain affected products.
• Centra‘s ranges ‘Centra’, ‘Freshly Prepared’, ‘Kitchen’, ‘Fuel’d Foods’, ‘Clean Cut’, ‘Happy Pear’, and ‘Food to Go’ also have affected products.
• Aldi‘s ‘Specially Selected’ and ‘Inspired Cuisine’ contain affected products.

The full list of products being recalled by the Food Safety Authority can be viewed here.

Ballymaguire Foods said that it made the decision on Saturday to temporarily suspend all production at the affected facility taking “immediate corrective actions”, which included a full pharmaceutical-grade clean down of the facility.

It apologised to its customers for any concern caused by the recall. Retailers are requested to remove the implicated products from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.

Wholesalers and distributors are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated products and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers.

Caterers should not use the implicated products and are advised to check their freezers for the implicated products and dispose of them.