Australian consumers are being urged to immediately check their refrigerators for specific sliced deli meats, following a major recall issued over fears of dangerous bacterial contamination.
Products and Locations Affected
The food safety watchdog, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), has announced a recall for several 1kg packages of Gotzinger Smallgoods brand products. The affected items include sliced silverside, roast beef, 4x4 sandwich ham, champagne ham, and provincial ham.
These products may have been available for sale in retail outlets and butcher shops in New South Wales and Queensland. Authorities have confirmed that, contrary to earlier reports, the recalled items were not sold at Woolworths.
Serious Health Risks of Listeria
The recall was triggered after the products were found to be potentially contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that can cause a serious infection known as listeriosis.
Listeria poses a severe threat to pregnant women, unborn babies, newborns, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems. For these vulnerable groups, the infection can be life-threatening. However, FSANZ also warns that people in the general population can fall ill from consuming contaminated food.
According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of a listeria infection impacting the digestive system can include diarrhoea, stomach cramps, and vomiting. These symptoms often appear within a day of eating tainted food and usually subside after a few days in otherwise healthy individuals. Prompt antibiotic treatment is crucial for curbing the effects of a severe infection.
What Consumers Need to Do
FSANZ has issued a clear directive: consumers should not eat these products. Anyone who has purchased the affected items should return them to their place of purchase to receive a full refund.
The full list of recalled products with their specific use-by dates is as follows:
- Sliced Silverside 1kg: All use-by dates up to and including 20 December 2025.
- 4x4 Sandwich Ham 1kg: All use-by dates up to and including 13 December 2025.
- Champagne Ham Sliced 1kg: All use-by dates up to and including 17 December 2025.
- Provincial Ham Sliced 1kg: All use-by dates up to and including 15 December 2025.
- Sliced Roast Beef 1kg: All packages are recalled, regardless of the use-by date.
This recall highlights the importance of heeding official food safety warnings to protect public health.
