On November 13, 2011 the UK’s governmental food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), issued an alert regarding a particular batch of Loyd Grossman labelled Korma cooking sauce. It has been implicated as the vehicle by which toxins from Clostridium botulinum have caused the hospitalisation of two Scottish children suffering from botulism.
Product Details of Recalled Loyd Grossman Cooking Sauce
The particular batch of Loyd Grossman cooking sauce which has been recalled is, according to the FSA, the 350g Korma jar with a “best before” date of February 2013 and a batch number of 1218R. The government agency stresses on its website that if you have such a jar at home, you must not use it. Instead call Premier Foods (the manufacturers) on 0800 389 8548 to arrange a full refund.
Botulism is the medical name given to the effect that neurotoxins produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacterium has on a person when he or she ingests it. The micro-organism survives in the soil in the form of spores which can lie dormant for a long time until the ideal conditions for it to start reproducing arise.
What is Botulism and what are its Symptoms?
According to The Times newspaper [accessed via The Times Digital Archive - Subscription required] when reporting on the first definitively recorded outbreak of botulism in the United Kingdom, during the summer of 1922, at the Loch Maree Hotel in the Highlands of Scotland, botulism symptoms become apparent generally between 12 to 36 hours after consuming food contaminated by this bacterium.
The earliest indications of an infection include weakness, dizziness, headache, double vision and occasional nausea and vomiting. “A pervasive paralysis then ensues including the bowel …” causing constipation “… lips and tongue. Eventually, the respiratory system becomes paralysed.” Consequently, if life support mechanisms are not put in place, the heart itself will eventually cease to beat and the victim will die. There is no fever or mental confusion.
UK’s First Reported Outbreak of Botulism was in Scotland in 1922
The Loch Maree Hotel outbreak mentioned above occurred in the summer of 1922 and killed eight people. According to contemporary newspaper reports it was linked to a particular jar of wild duck paste which had been used to make sandwiches for the hotel guests. Investigators were able to narrow it down to the paste due, in part, to the testimony of Major Fearnley Anderson.
The Major, his wife and an accompanying ghillie (a Highland guide) had gone out for a day’s fishing taking a packed lunch provided by the hotel. There were two lots of sandwiches – one which included the wild duck paste and the other plain roast beef. Major Anderson ate the beef, his wife and the ghillie ate the paste sandwiches. Both Mrs Anderson and the ghillie died whilst Major Anderson suffered no ill effects.
Two Scottish Children Remain “Stable” after Contracting Botulism
Just like investigations in 1922, it was a process of elimination that pointed to the source of contamination that led to botulism poisoning in two Scottish children in 2011. Quite simply, the children had eaten a dinner made using a jar of Loyd Grossman's korma sauce but their parents had not. Tests by health protection officials on the sauce jar and its contents confirmed that source.
Fortunately, medical techniques have progressed in leaps and bounds since Mrs Anderson and seven others died in that fatal botulism outbreak in the Scottish Highlands in 1922. Consequently, the prognosis for the children is quite good. On the night of November 14, 2011, they were described by a Scottish newspaper as being in a “stable condition” after having been treated with appropriate antitoxin drugs.
Elaine Findlay - An expert cook, Findlay's passion for food is evidenced by the size of her kitchen and her library of old recipe books
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