The food minister, Dan Jørgensen, has announced that he wants an explanation regarding the listeria outbreak that has claimed 12 lives in Denmark since September 2013.
Yesterday, the food product authorities Fødevarestyrelsen closed down the suspected supplier of the bad sandwich meat responsible for the infection, Jørn A Rullepølser, but now it has emerged that listeria was first found in the company’s products in May.
”I have asked Fødevarestyrelsen for a report and will follow the proceedings very closely,” Jørgensen told Politiken newspaper.
“It’s deeply tragic that the outbreak has claimed human lives and I take the situation very seriously.”
READ MORE: Listeria outbreak in Denmark has now claimed 12 lives in 12 months
Not a first-time offender
Three weeks after the May findings, Jørn A Rullepølser was cleared, despite the fact that five people at the time had been infected with the bacteria.
Jørgensen is working in close co-operation with Fødevarestyrelsen, Denmark’s Technical University and the national serum institute Statens Serum Institut to fully uncover the case details and cease the spread of the bacteria.
Jørn A Rullepølser was also involved in a case involving listeria in one of its products back in 1999 that led to infected beef brisket being withdrawn from shops.
