Question reference: S6W-15308
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 23 February 2023
-
Current status: Answered by Maree Todd on 9 March 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent briefings ministers have received regarding listeria in the food chain in Scotland, and whether any strains of listeria have been identified as being of particular concern.
Answer
I have received three ministerial notes since April 2022 in relation to an ongoing incident of listeria in the food chain. These were dated 1 April 2022, 11 August 2022 and 16 December 2022. Reference is made to a specific strain of listeria which is highly unusual, highly distinguishable and highly pathogenic, particularly for vulnerable groups in comparison to other strains in the notes dated 16 December 2022. To date sixteen human cases have tested positive and there have been three cases across the UK where Listeria infection is linked to the cause of death and all are linked to a particular strain confirmed by whole genome sequencing.