Almost 30 cases of salmonella linked to pre-packed lettuce sold at Victorian supermarkets have prompted a national product recall and a warning from the state's health department.
The Department of Health and Human Services has received reports of 28 cases of salmonella anatum strain linked to pre-packed lettuce distributed by Victorian-based company and sold at Coles and Woolworths.
It usually only receives a handful of reported cases a year, its senior medical advisor said on Thursday.
The lettuce distributed by Tripod Farmers can be found in a variety of packaged salads sold by supermarkets.
Anyone who has purchased Coles 4 Leaf Mix, Woolworths salad mix, SupaSalad Supamix and Wash N Toss salad mix with a best before date leading up to February 14 should return them to the store, or throw it out.
"We've been reassured that there's no risk associated with the products after that date," Finn Romanes said.
The department identified Tripod Farmers lettuce as the common source after following up the food histories of people who had fallen ill.
"We don't see a lot of this strain in Victoria, so it was very unusual to have as many as 28 cases reported to us at the start of the year," Dr Romanes said.
Tests on three products from two batches were positive for Salmonella anatum bacterium.
Tripod Farmers has issued a national product recall for the pre-packed salads, and a clean-up has been carried out at their premises.
The company is also working with the health department to try to find out how the lettuce became contaminated.
Salmonella is a form of gastroenteritis, and can affect anyone.
Symptoms usually occur between six to 72 hours after the bacteria is ingested.
Common symptoms include diarrhoea, fever, headache, stomach cramps, and vomiting, and dehydration, especially among infants and the elderly.
