MONDAY AUGUST 4th:The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) says it is investigating a food poisoning outbreak of Salmonella agona affecting the UK and Ireland.
It says that there have been eight cases in Ireland up to that point.
The FSAI says as a precautionary measure, a company that supplied "implicated ingredients" into the catering sector had withdrawn these products from sale.
The FSAI advises food outlets providing ready-to-eat sandwiches to be particularly strict in adhering to best hygiene practices
FRIDAY AUGUST 8th:The FSAI says laboratory testing of foods had provided evidence of a possible link with Dawn Farm Foods Ltd, of the Maudlins, Naas, Co Kildare, a specialist cooked meat ingredients supplier to the catering sector and some of its products.
It says that potentially contaminated beef product was supplied to the Subway chain of food outlets but that this had been removed from sale.
The FSAI says that as a precautionary measure all products processed on the same production line as this beef product at Dawn Farm Foods (plant number 734) were being withdrawn.
It says that Dawn Farm Foods was withdrawing selected batches of cooked beef, cooked chicken and cooked bacon products from the made-to-order sandwich trade.
FRIDAY AUGUST 8th:Dawn Farm Foods says it is working in close co-operation with the Department of Agriculture and the FSAI in their investigation.
It says it has withdrawn certain batches of cooked beef strips, cooked chicken fajita and cooked bacon from trade customers in the catering sector.
It also says one of its production lines has been closed and no further production from this line will occur until the ongoing investigation is complete.
MONDAY AUGUST 11th:The FSAI warns wholesalers and caterers to determine whether they had received any of the products supplied by Dawn Farm Foods implicated in the food poisoning outbreak and instructs that these should not be used.
The FSAI reiterates its advice for all food outlets providing ready-to-eat sandwiches to be particularly strict in adhering to best hygiene practices.
WEDNESDAY AUGUST 13th:The FSAI warns additional products have been identified that could be implicated as a source of the outbreak.
It again advises that products processed on the same production line as the Salmonella-positive products at Dawn Farm Foods should not be used.
It says that "identified products will have been supplied to intermediary distributors as frozen product and subsequently used by the catering sector".
The FSAI also warns food businesses that it was an offence to place unsafe food on the market.
In a second alert the FSAI says one product, cooked bacon, supplied to Kerry Foods, had been incorporated into a number of branded retail packs of sandwich filler which had been sold through national retail chains.
These products have been withdrawn by the retailers, but there is a possibility that consumers may have them in their homes and so the retailers are recalling them from customers, it notes. The products are being recalled as a precautionary measure because, it says, there is a possibility they may be contaminated with salmonella.
INFORMATION ALERTInformation on the current Salmonella agona outbreak, including advice to consumers and those working the food and catering sectors is available on the Food Safety Authority of Ireland websites www.fsai.ie- it also lists products that have been withdrawn as a consequence.