A salmonella outbreak linked to a brand of dried processed meat has sickened more than 80 people in the UK.
The UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that an increase in monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium cases caused by a single strain was confirmed through analysis of whole genome sequencing (WGS) data at the end of January 2026.
As of the end of February, 84 confirmed infections had been discovered through testing for salmonella isolates from cases, which were found to be similar, suggesting a common source of contamination.
Sampling dates for confirmed illnesses ranged from January 7 to February 11. Most of the sick people (69) live in England, but 10 are in Wales and five in Scotland. In England, 23 patients were from the South East and 16 were from the East of England.
Go to products sold at Tesco
Patient ages ranged from 2 to 91 years, with a mean age of 33 years. There are 45 men and 39 women. There were multiple hospitalizations and two people suffered bloodstream infections, but there were no deaths.
Epidemiological studies have identified a higher than expected proportion of cases reporting consumption of cured pork products in the 7 days before becoming ill.
Of the sick people interviewed, 23 had consumed cured pork products. Analysis of epidemiological and supermarket loyalty card data highlighted a link with imported processed ready-to-eat pork products as a possible source of infection. The product is sold at Tesco, a large British supermarket chain.
Tesco has withdrawn the products involved pending further investigations. Sampling from the supplier confirmed salmonella in a batch of product, which was recalled on March 2.
French company Sacor recalled Bastides Saucisson Sec due to salmonella. It is available in 200g packs and has an expiration date of March 4th.
WGS results are pending to determine if the Salmonella isolated from the batch is related to the outbreak strain.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is conducting an investigation with international partners to determine the root cause of the outbreak.
