Meat from the Netherlands?
Contaminated pork in English supermarket
Contaminated pork has been found in an English supermarket. It has not been disclosed which supermarket it concerns. According to Public Health England, thousands of consumers may be infected with the virus. That will be announced by the organization on Sunday 20 August.
The researchers from Public Health England say that the virus mainly occurs in pork sausages. The virus shows characteristics of the hepatitis E virus, according to the researchers. This virus can cause liver cirrhosis, among other things.
Pork from the Netherlands, among others
The English researchers suspect that the meat comes from Europe, especially from the Netherlands and Germany. According to them, it is less likely that British pigs have also become infected with the virus.
Risk of hepatitis E is small
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has tried to calm concerns about the virus. For example, the organization says that the chance of developing the hepatitis E virus (HEV) is very small.
The consumers who do have the virus often show no symptoms. If there are, it often resembles the flu. HEV can have major consequences for people with a low immune system, such as transplant patients or pregnant women.
Tesco is called
Public Health England and the FSA have declined to name the supermarket in question, but the Sunday Times suspects it may be Tesco. That supermarket has announced in a statement that it will conduct an investigation into the research results.
Kimberly Baker
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