Several cases of listeria in Sweden over the past year have been traced back to smoked salmon products originating from Norway's Leroy Seafood Group.
This summer, the Swedish Food Agency traced some of the 19 cases to a salmon smokehouse in Smogen, Sweden, which is owned by Leroy.
Leroy immediately introduced measures, and the outbreak has now stopped.
"After we received a notification from the Swedish Food Agency in July suspecting listeria in our smoked products from the facility in Smogen, we have worked intensively on the case in collaboration with the Swedish authorities," said Anne Hilde Midttveit, head of environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) and quality at Leroy Seafood Group.
Leroy immediately withdrew a batch of smoked salmon from Swedish stores, and began work to trace a possible source of infection in its own production, as well as against raw materials.
The smoked products in question are only sold in Sweden.
The source of the bacteria was found in the factory environment and has now been removed. The Swedish Food Safety Authority declared the outbreak in Sweden to be over in November.
"Leroy deeply regrets the listeria outbreak in Sweden, said Midttveit. "We are very sorry that there are many indications that someone has become ill after eating smoked products from our Swedish plant. We will do our utmost to prevent such cases in the future," she said.
