Poultry, pork in hepatitis scare
July 18, 2006 12:00am
Article from: AAP
BRISBANE - Packets of shaved ham, turkey and chicken are being pulled off supermarket shelves across Australia because a Queensland meat packer has the potentially fatal hepatitis A virus.
One of Australia's largest meat producers, Darling Downs Foods Pty Ltd, which manufactures KR Castlemaine foods, today issued a voluntary recall of 17 of its product lines after an employee at its factory at Toowoomba fell ill with the virus earlier this month.
Products affected include various shaved ham varieties as well as shaved turkey, chicken and pastrami with various use-by dates over August and September.
Advertisements with the full list of products affected by the recall and their use-by dates will be published in newspapers across Australia tomorrow.
The female employee, who works on the packaging line, was first diagnosed with the disease on July 9 after contracting it from an overseas visitor.
She is now receiving treatment and is recovering from the illness.
The 800 staff at the factory are being monitored for symptoms of the highly contagious disease, which can be deadly in a small number of cases.
A further 1,200 staff at the company's Victorian factory are not affected by the scare.
The recall, ordered following consultation with Queensland Health and the Communicable Disease Network Australia, is the first of its kind in Australia.
Darling Downs Foods president Mike Adams said the recall had been a tough decision, due to the company's strict health and safety regime.
These include all employees sanitising their hands with alcohol rub before starting a shift, donning two layers of gloves, an apron and washing down if they come into contact with any potentially contaminated surface.
"We back our business on the hygiene that we apply in our company," Mr Adams said.
"But we are a food company ... we have most in mind our consumers; we want to make sure they don't get unwell eating our products."
Mr Adams estimated the recall could cost the company up to $500,000.
Queensland Health chief health officer Jeannette Young said while it was highly unlikely any consumer would contract hepatitis A from the meat products, it was best to err on the side of caution.
"Patient safety is paramount," Dr Young said.
"Hepatitis A is an awful disease. In most people it is self limiting but in some people it can go on for a long time and can even cause death. It is uncommon but it does occur."
She said the incubation period for the disease was up to 30 days, with initial symptoms including fever, nausea, lack of appetite, fatigue and abdominal discomfort.
Dr Young said anyone who had eaten a product and displayed such symptoms should consult their doctor.
GPs in Queensland have been alerted to the danger, while health authorities in other states and territories have also been notified.
