The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has issued a Listeria recall for six chicken ready meals. The FSAI published two separate alerts on 18 September 2026 over the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes. Consumers should not eat the implicated batches.
The recall covers products from Fit Foods, Chef Select, Fresh Choice Kitchen and Kilbride Classic Cuisine. Some meals carry store-specific labels, so shoppers need to check the back of the pack.
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Which Ready Meals Are in the Listeria Recall?
The first alert covers four products. The second covers two 750g roast chicken dinners. Retailers have been asked to remove the implicated batches and display recall notices at point of sale. You can read the full FSAI alert on the FSAI website.
Alert one: Fit Foods, Chef Select and Fresh Choice Kitchen
- Fit Foods Chicken & Chorizo with Baby Potatoes (400g). Use-by dates: 17/09/2026, 24/09/2026 and 29/09/2026. Batch codes: 2624601, 2625301 and 2625801.
- Fit Foods Chicken & Stuffing with Potatoes and Gravy (400g). Use-by dates: 17/09/2026, 22/09/2026 and 24/09/2026. Batch codes: 2624601, 2625101 and 2625301.
- Chef Select High Protein Jamaican Jerk Chicken (400g). Use-by dates: 22/09/2026 and 24/09/2026. Batch codes: 2624501 and 2625801.
- Fresh Choice Kitchen Roast Chicken Dinner (600g). Use-by dates: 20/09/2026, 23/09/2026 and 27/09/2026. Batch codes: 2625101, 2625301 and 2625801.
Alert two: Kilbride Classic Cuisine
- Kilbride Classic Cuisine Roast Chicken & Gravy Dinner (750g).
- Roast Chicken & Gravy Dinner (750g) with “Produced by: Kilbride Classic Cuisine” on the back label.
The affected use-by dates for both products fall between 17th and 26th September 2026.
What Is Listeria Monocytogenes?
Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium found in soil, water, sewage, vegetation and animals. Contaminated food is the main route of infection.
Thorough cooking kills the bacterium. The FSAI cites a core temperature of 75°C, or an equivalent time and temperature combination. Contamination can follow cooking, when food touches contaminated equipment, surfaces or hands.
Listeria can grow at fridge temperatures, although growth is slow. Chilled foods with a long shelf life carry particular risk if the food supports growth.
Symptoms of Listeriosis and Who Is at Risk
- Symptoms in healthy people: mild flu-like symptoms, or nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
- Severe illness: infection can lead to serious complications in vulnerable people.
- Vulnerable groups: pregnant women, infants, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
- Incubation period: three to 70 days, with an average of three weeks.
Symptoms can appear up to 70 days after eating contaminated food. This long window means illness can follow a meal by several weeks.
What Should Consumers Do During a Listeria Recall?
- Do not eat the implicated batches.
- Check the batch code, use-by date and back-of-pack label.
- Seek medical advice if you feel unwell after eating an implicated batch.
The FSAI’s standing advice is that people who ate a recalled food and feel fine need not take action.
What the New EU Listeria Limit Means for Food Businesses
The recall comes after a change to EU rules on Listeria in ready-to-eat foods. From 1 July 2026, Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2895 applies a stricter limit to ready-to-eat foods that support Listeria growth.
Under the amended rule, these products must show “not detected in 25g” throughout their shelf life. The exception applies where the producer can demonstrate that levels will not exceed 100 colony forming units per gram (CFU/g) throughout shelf life. Before 1 July 2026, the “not detected in 25g” limit covered food up to the point it left the manufacturer’s control.
The FSAI expects producers to hold this evidence in advance. It states that generating evidence during an active incident is not appropriate. The FSAI expects more non-compliance among businesses without robust Listeria controls.
The FSAI recommends these controls across the food chain:
- Prerequisite programmes covering good hygiene practice.
- A HACCP-based food safety management system.
- Testing against microbiological criteria to validate and verify controls.
- A Listeria Environmental Monitoring (LEM) programme.
How Southern Scientific Can Help
A Listeria recall removes product from shelves and tests consumer trust. Southern Scientific’s microbiology laboratory tests food samples for Listeria, E. coli, Salmonella, coliforms and other organisms. We offer swab analysis and shelf-life testing. Our guide to microbiological food safety testing explains how each test works.
These services build the evidence the FSAI expects. Product testing checks the food. Swab analysis checks the environment. Shelf-life testing shows how a product behaves through its shelf life. Testing before a problem reaches the shelf means moving from reactive crisis management to proactive protection.
