In Belgium, in 2017, Listeria bacteria was also discovered in two frozen corn samples, reported Saturday Het Nieuwsblad, de Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Belang van Limburg. The Belgian vegetable producer Greenyard is the source of a surge of listeria bacterial infections, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). At least nine Europeans have passed away after having ingested infected frozen vegetables coming from a Hungarian factory of the Belgian company. In Belgium, no victim has been recorded, but according to the press, the bacteria was indeed discovered in frozen corn in 2017.
According to the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA), the enquiry is led by Hungarian sanitarian authorities. “The contamination took place on one of their sites. They must make observations,’’ stated AFSCA’s spokesperson, Philippe Houdart, in the Flemish press.
He says that he is not surprised that samples revealed contamination, for this Hungarian factory also delivers products in Belgium. “This does not mean that all of this factory’s products are contaminated. A production process such as this one is complex. We still do not know enough.’’
The Brussels Times
