Between late December 2012 and early February 2013, an outbreak of listeria caused three deaths and infected 26 people across Australia. The first case was identified before Christmas and all reported cases were linked to a particular company’s soft cheese. The company’s food processing, hygiene and monitoring practices were found to be satisfactory and not the cause of outbreak. The company implemented a nationwide recall of all of its products and voluntarily introduced stricter product testing and quality control measures.
Fever, headache, fatigue, aches and pains, the symptoms of listeria, occurred in most people.
A coronial inquest into the deaths is expected and further information will be provided at a later date.