At least 30 different types of supermarket sandwiches, wraps and salads — potentially amounting to hundreds of thousands of items — have been recalled from shelves over serious health concerns.
Food safety watchdogs have stuck a ‘do not eat’ alert on the products made by Greencore, who produce 1.7million food products daily.
It is feared some batches sold in seven different stores could be contaminated with E.coli.
The bug — which can kill — usually causes a fever, sickness and diarrhoea. Its symptoms typically fade naturally within days.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued the alert.
Symptoms of Shiga toxin-producing E.coli include severe diarrhoea and vomiting, according to the UK Health Security Agency
It comes as the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) last week revealed more than 100 Brits had been struck down with the Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC), a rare strain of the diarrhoea-causing bug.
At the time, the UKHSA said it believes cases are linked to a ‘nationally distributed food item’ or ‘multiple food items’ and say they are investigating the cause.
Two-thirds of those known to have been infected by the bacteria in England have become so severely ill they needed hospital care.
Victims include children as young as two, though the majority are young adults.
UKHSA said a total of 113 cases have been logged between May 25 and June 4 but more are expected.
Of these, 81 were in England, with 18 in Wales and 13 in Scotland.
Just one case has been recorded in Northern Ireland though officials say this individual likely caught the bug in England.
STEC is primarily spread by eating contaminated foods, such as raw vegetables that have not been washed or stored correctly or from undercooked meat.
It can also be spread by touching infected animals or their faeces, either directly or through contaminated water.
People can also pass the bug on through direct content, such as caring for a child who is sick and then touching their face and mouth without properly washing their hands.
One of those hospitalised with serious symptoms was former golf course manager Christopher Holmes, 76.
He was admitted to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother hospital in Margate, Kent, with diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps.
The 113 confirmed cases of E.coli are spread across the UK, leading officials to believe it was caused by a nationally distributed food item
Doctors were initially puzzled as to what had caused the symptoms, but tests later showed he had contracted the STEC E.coli and he was moved to an isolation room.
Daughter Lea, 54, of Deal, Kent, said: ‘It’s been horrible. We don’t know what caused it.
‘He doesn’t eat red meat or fish and isn’t a big eater in general. He’s very hygienic and always cooks things properly.
‘The only thing that he thought it could have been was salad. He was eating lots of salads before he got ill.
‘He’s been on jellies, ice creams and soups for the last few days. It’s all been quite overwhelming for him.’
She added doctors are hoping to discharge her father in the coming days, once the infection has passed.
Professor of food safety Nicola Holden said people should maintain good kitchen hygiene — and be particularly careful when breaking out the barbecue during the warm weather.
‘It’s a particularly nasty variant of E.coli and we have a high hospitalisation rate,’ she told Radio 4’s Today programme.
‘What people can do is make sure they’re very vigilant about hand-washing and follow advice from food standard agencies about keeping their food safe and keeping good hygiene in the kitchen.
‘We’re coming up to barbecue season. People must make sure those beef burgers are cooked thoroughly and not raw in the middle, for example.’
