The Food Safety Authority has warned consumers not to eat raw mushrooms following the discovery of salmonella contamination in raw mushrooms imported from Britain. While there was no evidence that any mushrooms produced in the Republic were contaminated, the recommendation still stood "as a precautionary measure", the authority said.
The wholesale mushrooms were produced in Preston and tested positive for an uncommon strain of the bacteria, Salmonella kedougou. The last reported case here involving the organism was in 1997, but no illness has been linked to the contamination so far.
The Food Safety Authority warned both consumers and caterers and recommended that all mushrooms be cooked as this would kill any salmonella present.