Firm claims listeria in its trout is isolated case

The deadly bacteria listeria detected in a batch of smoked trout yesterday was “an isolated case”, the firm Eisvogel’s chief Hubert Bernegger claimed today (Fri).He said the firm, based in Molln in Upper Austria’s Kirchdorf district, was maintaining all appropriate hygienic standards in its production and had spent more than 60,000 Euros annually in micro-biological examinations and quality tests of its products.Bernegger added that listeria had never before been found in any of Eisvogel’s products and that it had contracted with outside experts for an examination of its hygienic standards within hours of the report of listeria in its trout. Results would be available early next week, he added.He noted that the batch of trout with listeria had amounted to only 80 kilos, compared to the three tonnes of smoked products distributed weekly by his firm.The Styrian dairy firm Prolactal had to recall eight brands of its Quargel cheese on 24 January because they were contaminated with listeria bacteria. The cheese has caused the deaths of 10 people in Austria and Germany.Consumption of food with excessive concentrations of listeria can lead to meningitis, encephalitis and blood-poisoning.