Salmonella not linked to imported Bovril

There is no cause for concern over Bovril, an extract of beef, despite some jars being taken off the shelves in Britain following a salmonella scare, according to the importers Micallef & Zammit.

The jars, with best before dates of January 2010, were removed as a "precautionary measure", and people who may have consumed the product were advised to seek medical help, according to a Sky News report.

The producers, Unilever, were forced to close down the factory in Staffordshire until it gets the all-clear, Sky News said yesterday.

Micallef & Zammit said the contaminated batch was not imported.

Unilever confirmed that none of the products had been exported, and that the problem was limited to a particular batch in Britain.

The batch codes of the Bovril 250g which were affected are: L8201XX795, L8206XX795, L8207XX795 and L8208XX795, whereas those of the Bovril 600g tub, which is not imported by the Maltese firm is L8207XX795.

Micallef & Zammit confirmed that they have not received or placed for sale any Bovril 250g jars with the affected batch codes.

They have requested their sales team to check for Bovril products that might have been placed on the market via a parallel trader.