Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) recall of specific batches of various Old Irish Creamery Cheese cheddar cheese products due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
Alert Summary dated Wednesday, 19th February 2025.
Category 1: For Action Alert Notification: 2025.10 Product Identification: List of implicated Old Irish Creamery Cheese cheddar cheese products and batches. CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL EXTENDED LISTING – including Product Name; Best-before date, and Pack size. Approval number: IE 1059 EC Batch Code: Please see attached list. Country Of Origin: Ireland
Message: The attached list of Old Irish Creamery Cheese cheddar cheese products are being recalled due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes. Recall notices will be displayed at point-of-sale.
Nature Of Danger: Symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection 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. 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 3 weeks but can range between 3 and 70 days.
Wholesalers/distributors: Same are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated batches and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retail customers. Caterers: Same should not use the implicated batches. Retailers: Same are requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale. Consumers:Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated batches of cheese.
Food Safety Authotity of Ireland warn of undeclared milk in specific batches of Boundless Sour Cream and Onion Flavour Chips.
Alert Summary dated Tuesday, February 18th 2025.
Allergy Alert Notification: 2025.A03 Allergen: Milk Product Identification: Boundless Sour Cream and Onion Flavour Chips; pack size: 80g Country Of Origin: United Kingdom Batch Code: Please see table hereunder.
Batch code
Best before date
31724
30. 11. 2025.
32424
30. 11. 2025.
34624
31. 12. 2025.
34724
31. 12. 2025.
Message: The above batches of Boundless Sour Cream and Onion Flavour Chips contain milk which is not declared in the list of ingredients. This may make the batches unsafe for consumers who are allergic to or intolerant of milk.
Two old adages or statements expressing a general truth come to mind when we examine the tins of Chocolate Kimberley biscuits manufactured by Jacobs, (“Elite”) which were stacked high on our Supermarket shelves last Christmas 2024.
The adages are “A pig in a poke” and “Letting the cat out of the bag”.
Pics: G. Willoughby.
A “Pig in a Poke” refers to an item that is bought without first being inspected, and is therefore of unknown authenticity or quality. This idiom was attested as early as the year 1555, quote:- “I wyll neuer bye the pyg in the poke”. [I will never buy the pig in the poke.] “Thers many a foule pyg in a feyre cloke”. [There’s many a foul pig in a fair cloak.]
Most of our readers will be aware that a “poke” is a sack or a bag, (Same comes from the French word ‘poque’), but in the case of Jacob’s Chocolate Kimberley Biscuits, last Christmas this poke was a tin box.
In the 19th century farmers often substituted a cat for a suckling pig, when bringing it to market. When the buyer returned home to release the pig, he would discover this deception, hence the adage “Letting the cat out of the bag”. The Italian statement, expressing a general truth, is more relevant in this case, “Buying in a closed box”. [Note: Under common law, buyers have the right to inspect goods before any purchase takes place.] The ‘Jacob’s’ brand name is owned by the Jacob Fruitfield Food Group, with offices at Commercial House, Millbank Business Park, Lucan, Co. Dublin, and is part of Valeo Foods.
So let’s examine what appears to be not just deception but also evidence of company financial greed. When the lid of the tin box is opened the thermoformed plastic customized packaging within, appears to offer 30 individual Jacob’s Chocolate Kimberley biscuits, laid out in 10 separate sections; 3 deep. There is no numbering of the items contained on the box, displayed on the exterior, (even boxes of Lidl tissues state that 226 tissues are contained). Usually, when empty, both tin and packaging within, is dumped into recycling.
But take a closer look at the internal packaging. [See Images above]. Is same designed to delibertely deceive? Take a side-view look at the thermoformed plastic. In actual fact only 26 biscuits are to be found located within the tin container, where 4 others are delibertely excluded due to the deliberate design of the thermoformed customized plastic packaging within.
To add insult to injury, the Yuka Application(App) [which we have referred to previously] rates the product as BAD, granting it only 12 out of a possible 100. Yuka points out this product contains calcium carbonate, latter an additive extracted from limestone, which presents in the form of nanoparticles, tiny molecules that can penetrate into living cells and accumulate in the body and whose long-term effects are unknown.
Finally, note the shape of the tin container, its rounded corners prevents another 12 Kimberley biscuits from being inserted into the tin were it to be square. Retailers charge consumers €10 in November, for those shopping early for Christmas, and €8 the fortnight before Christmas to ensure the product, which has a shelf life of 6 months, is totally gone off their display units.
Fool me once, shame on thee; fool me twice, shame on me.
In total eleven Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses in Ireland during January 2025.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today reported that 11 Enforcement Orders were served on food businesses during the month of January for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. The Enforcement Orders were issued by Environmental Health Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE).
Five Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on:
Miner’s Rest Public House(Closed Area: The external drinks storage room), Ballingarry, Thurles, Co. Tipperary. (See closure Order Report HERE)
The Turk Grill(Take Away), 23 Grattan Street, Sligo
Ella’s Heaven Café and Bakery, 95A Talbot Street, Dublin 1
Three Closure Orders were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on:
Xpress Pantry(Closed activities: Part of the activities of the business, its establishments, holdings, or other premises be ceased – The manufacture and wholesale of foods of animal origin and subsequently being placed on the market), Unit 9, Dunshaughlin Business Park, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath.
Indian Tiffins(Restaurant/Café), 143 Parnell Street, Dublin 1.
Bewley’s Café(Closed activity: Part of the activities of its establishment be ceased, specifically the use of the vacuum packing machine), 78/79 Grafton Street, Dublin 2.
Three Prohibition Orders were served under the FSAI Act 1998 on:
Miner’s Rest Public House, Ballingarry, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
La Citadel(Retailer), Unit 4, Glebeview House, River Mall, Swords, Co. Dublin.
M Tee Ventures(Retailer), Unit 1, Glebeview House, River Mall, Main Street, Swords, Co. Dublin.
Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in January include: active cockroach infestation; rodent activity and rodent droppings; raw fish vacuum packed in the same machine where ready-to-eat foods were vacuum packed with no documented cleaning and disinfection procedure or cleaning schedule in place for the vacuum packer; damp and mould growth; personal items such as shoes, a gazebo and scooter in a food production area; complete lack of cleaning; all surfaces stained and dirty with waste food debris and a build-up of dust; no evidence of a food safety management system in place; a business that had not been approved by a competent authority for the operations taking place; unlabelled food items with no traceability information provided.
Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, reiterated that the legal onus is on food businesses to ensure they fully comply with food safety legislation at all times. “Food businesses have a fundamental legal responsibility to ensure the food they produce is safe to eat. The Enforcement Orders served in January highlight unacceptable breaches of food safety legislation, including inadequate pest control, poor hygiene standards, and a lack of proper food traceability. These non-compliances pose a serious risk to consumer health and also undermine confidence in the food industry. It is essential that all food businesses implement and maintain a robust food safety management system to prevent such violations. The law is clear, food safety is not optional, and food businesses that fail to comply will face enforcement action.”
Also, during the month of December 2024, one prosecution was taken by the Health Service Executive in relation to: Vicos Grill (Take Away), 1 Ludlow Street, Navan, Meath.
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