Thousands of Cadbury products are being pulled from stores across the UK over listeria fears. Sky News said that people who have bought products from these batches have been warned not to eat them and instead return them for a refund. According to Centres for Disease Control (CDC), listeria infection is a foodborne bacterial illness (called listeriosis) usually caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Pregnant women and people above the age of 65 are most at risk as the bacteria attack the immune system.
The UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) is urging the customers to check the expiry date for the products on their website.
The agency has issued alert about Crunchie, Daim, Flake, Dairy Milk Buttons and Dairy Milk Chunks 75g chocolate desserts, all sold individually at supermarkets, Sky News reported.
The 'use-by' dates of concern are May 17 for the Crunchie and Flake desserts, and May 18 for the rest.
Metro said that supermarket chain Muller is recalling the batches of the chocolates after an alarm was raised about contamination.
"Muller has taken the precautionary step of recalling some batches of various Cadbury branded dessert products because of the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes," the FSA said in a statement.
The symptoms of listeriosis are similar to flu. They include fever, muscle ache or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea, as per the CDC.
The health agency also said that signs and symptoms of listeria infection vary depending on the person infected and the part of the body affected.
In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications such as meningitis. If a pregnant woman gets listeriosis, there is a risk of miscarriage.
