Woolworths recalls rice product amid Listeria concerns

The Woolworths product is sourced from Belgium and contains frozen sweetcorn sourced from the Greenyard Factory in Hungary. This Greenyard Factory has been implicated as the potential source of a Listeria outbreak in Europe.

"Listeria bacteria are easily destroyed by cooking. The Frozen Savoury Rice Mix product is uncooked and frozen and so requires cooking before consumption. Thorough cooking ensures that the product is safe. We are voluntarily recalling this product as a precautionary measure, on the global instruction of the Hungarian Food Safety Agency," Woolworths said in a statement.

The retailer said that none of its other frozen sweetcorn or vegetable products are affected.

"Woolworths and our suppliers proactively manage and prevent microbial contamination of food and have done so for many years. We have very strict protocols in place as part of our standard food safety management process. To verify the safety of our food products, we implement additional monitoring where we independently have our food products tested randomly. This testing includes Listeria. This product has been tested and found to be compliant."

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Customers who have purchased the product, should return the product to their local store for a full refund. For more information please contact the Woolworths customer service centre on 0860 022 002 or visit woolworths.co.za.