All the sandwiches and salads linked to E. coli – and how contamination occurs

18/06/2024

Sandwiches, wraps and salad products sold at major UK shops and supermarkets have been recalled due to possible E. coli contamination amid a bacterial outbreak that has left dozens of people in hospital.

Food manufacturer THIS! has become the latest company to issue a “precautionary” recall notice to customers over its vegan chicken and bacon wrap – which is sold only at WH Smith – as the Food Standards Agency (FSA) advised anyone who purchased the product at any point up to and including 18 June to avoid eating it and instead return it to the store for a full refund.

It comes days after manufacturers Greencore Group and Samworth Brothers Manton Wood recalled a variety of sandwiches, wraps and salads sold in major supermarkets and retailers including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons, Co-op and Boots due to a potential link to an ongoing outbreak of shiga toxin-producing E. coli (Stec) that has led to hospitalisations across the UK this month.

As of 11 June, the number of confirmed cases associated with the Stec outbreak had risen to 211, an increase of 98 since a previous update from UKHSA on 6 June. The majority of cases – 147 – were patients in England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.

At least 67 people have been admitted to hospital, with the UKHSA warning cases are likely to rise.

FSA head of incidents Darren Whitby said the agency was working with the UKHSA to establish the root cause of the outbreak, the source of which has so far been narrowed to a “small number of leaf products”.

Which products are being recalled?

Several sandwich makers have recalled certain salads, sandwiches and wraps due to a possible contamination of E. coli.

Here is a list of the affected sandwiches:

Greencore Group

Aldi Chicken Fajita Triple Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Amazon BLT sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Amazon Chicken Salad sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Amazon Ploughman’s Sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Amazon Chicken & Bacon Layered Salad – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Amazon Prawn Layered Salad – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Asda Smoky Beans and Cheddar Cheese Wrap – All dates up to and including 15 June 2024
Asda Chicken Salad sandwich – All dates up to and including 15 June 2024
Asda Chicken & Bacon Club sandwich – All dates up to and including 15 June 2024
Asda Brie, Bacon and Chilli Chutney sandwich – All dates up to and including 15 June 2024
Asda BLT sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots BBQ Chicken Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots BLT sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Cheddar Cheese Ploughman’s – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Chicken & Bacon Caesar wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Chicken Salad sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Chicken Triple sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Delicious Ham & Cheese Ploughman’s sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Halloumi & Greek Style Salad wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Ham & Egg Club sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Mixed Triple sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Southern Fried Chicken Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Spicy Bean & Cheese Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Vegan No Chicken Salad sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Vegan No Duck & Hoisin Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Boots Veggie Triple sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Co-op Vegan Gro Onion Bhaji sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Co-op Mexican Style Bean & Cheese Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Co-op Ham, Cheese & Pickle sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Co-op Ham & Cheese Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Co-op Chicken & Bacon Caesar Wrap – All dates up to and including 17 June 2024
Co-op Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Morrisons Chicken Salad – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Morrisons Chicken Salad sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Morrisons Gluten Free Chicken Salad sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Morrisons Gluten Free Sandwich Platter – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Sainsbury’s Peri Peri Chicken Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Sainsbury’s BBQ Pulled Pork & Red Leicester sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Sainsbury’s Chicken, Bacon & Avocado Focaccia sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Sainsbury’s Greek Style Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Sainsbury’s Jerk Halloumi Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Asda Vegan No Chick’n Caesar Wrap – All dates up to and including 15 June 2024
Asda Tuna Crunch Sub Roll – All dates up to and including 15 June 2024
Asda Southern Fried Chicken Wrap – All dates up to and including 15 June 2024
Asda Southern Fried Chicken Triple Wrap – All dates up to and including 15 June 2024

Samworth Brothers Manton Wood

Tesco Chicken Salad Sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Tesco Chicken Salad Sub -All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
The Gym Kitchen Peri Peri Chicken Chilled Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
OneStop Tuna Crunch Sub – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
OneStop Chicken Salad Sandwich -All dates up to and including 17 June 2024
OneStop Hoisin Duck Wrap – All dates up to and including 17 June 2024
OneStop Chicken Bacon & Lettuce Sandwich – All dates up to and including 17 June 2024
Tesco BBQ Chicken Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Tesco Hoi Sin Duck Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Tesco The Chicken Club Sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Tesco Tuna Crunch Sub – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Tesco Spicy Bean Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Tesco Chicken Bacon & Lettuce Sandwich – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Tesco Fajita Chicken Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024
Tesco Summer Edition Greek Style Chicken Gyros Wrap – All dates up to and including 16 June 2024

THIS!

THIS! Isn’t Chicken and Bacon Wrap – All dates up to and including 18 June 2024

What are the symptoms of E. coli?

While Escherichia coli (E. coli) are a diverse group of bacteria that are normally harmless and live in the intestines of humans and animals, certain strains such as Stec can make people very ill.

Stec is a bacterial infection contracted by people eating food that is contaminated, hasn’t been fully cooked or wasn’t washed properly.

It can also be contracted through handling or preparing contaminated food, drinking or swimming in water contaminated with the bacteria, and coming into close contact with infected people or animals.

Symptoms of a Stec infection – which can also be asymptomatic in some people – usually take between two to four days to appear and can include:

passing less urine than normal
mild diarrhea
stomach pain
vomiting
fever
severe diarrhoea (with blood) – seen in about half of cases

People can get better within five to seven days but can last for up to two weeks, with those who are unwell encouraged to drink plenty of fluids and stay away from work or school.

There is no specific treatment for an E. coli infection and those affected can usually be cared for at home, with most people able to recover without medical treatment.

However, a small number of people – particularly children – who are infected could develop a serious condition called haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) symptoms of which include urinating less, tiredness, swelling and bruising.

HUS can sometimes lead to kidney failure and death, although this is rare.

A small proportion of adults may also develop a similar condition called thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura (TTP).

According to Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, Stec infections carry “a higher risk of hospitalisation and death… than we see in most other causes of diarrhoea”, with deaths, where they occur, “usually in the very young, the very old and those with pre-existing illnesses”.

How does food become contaminated?

The source of the outbreak of E. coli is still unclear, with a UKHSA-led probe ongoing, but contamination has been narrowed to a “small number of salad leaf products”.

Vegan wraps join list of supermarket sandwiches recalled over E.coli

Darren Whitby, head of incidents at the FSA, said sandwich manufacturers were taking “a precautionary measure” as it, alongside Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and the UKHSA works to identify the cause of the ongoing outbreak.

The FSA believes the outbreak was caused by the bacteria being found in animal manure which is commonly used as a fertiliser.

“This is a complex investigation, and we have worked swiftly with the relevant businesses and the local authorities concerned to narrow down the wide range of foods consumed to a small number of salad leaf products that have been used in sandwiches, wraps, subs and rolls,” he said.

“Following thorough food chain analysis, these products are being recalled as a precaution. The FSA is here to ensure that food is safe. If there are products on the market that are not, we won’t hesitate to take action to remove them”.

The FSA has so far been unable to say whether the contaminated leaves came from the UK or were imported.

Jim Monaghan, a professor of crop science at Harper Adams University, told BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today programme that the routes through which products could become contaminated include direct contamination, with animal manure coming into direct contact with food products, or by water or soil that is contaminated with manure coming into contact with the products.

As for how the contamination behind this outbreak could have occurred, he added: “We can’t overlook the summer we’re having in the northern hemisphere – there have been terrible rainstorms [across Europe, including the UK] … meaning flooding events [could be] washing material onto crops.

“This can be a nightmare for farmers”.