DFDS Seaways, which runs two cruise ferries between Oslo and Copenhagen, warned on Wednesday that they’d been among those to have unwittingly served passengers Danish meat that’s suspected of containing the potentially fatal listeria bacteria. The sliced cold-cuts from Danish producer Jørn A Rullepølser were also sold in the ferries’ duty-free shops.
The meat was part of DFDS’ standard inventory on board both its vessels, the Crown Seaways and Pearl Seaways, reported the company in a press release issued Wednesday. The meat was served at the vessels’ breakfast buffets and had been sold in shops on board since April 28.
The meat has been pulled off the market after the Danish food safety authority (Fødevarestyrelsen) found it contaminated with high levels of listeria bacteria. Authorities warn that the bacteria can be fatal for people with poor health already, and 12 deaths in Denmark have been linked to the contaminated meat so far.
Norwegians, who often travel to Denmark and bring home Danish food because of cheaper prices and wider selection, already have been warned to throw out any meat from the Jørn A Rullepølser A/S company in Hedehusene in Denmark. Now DFDS is also warning any passengers who have sailed on their vessels and purchased meat recently to do the same. They estimate that around 125 packages of the meat, which Norwegians call sylte, were sold on board the ships as late as Tuesday, before it was removed from the shelves.
Several hundred thousand Norwegians have been among DFDS’ passengers during the busy summer holiday months, but DFDS officials said they’d had no reports of anyone falling ill. Roar Funderud, chief executive of DFDS, told NRK that “if anyone has become sick because of this meat that was on board, we apologize for that.”
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund
