Nearly 200 people have fallen ill with salmonella linked to pork scratching products.

       Batches of Mr Porky’s, Jay’s and The Real Pork Crackling Company have been recalled due to potential contamination.

       The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said there was a link between several pork scratching projects and salmonella poisoning, which can cause diarrhoea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever.

       The FSA said 176 cases reported over the course of nearly a year in the UK have been linked to these products.

       At least 12 of these are understood to have been hospitalised.

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       Tayto Group Ltd, the UK crisp and snack manufacturer, has taken the precautionary step of recalling the items feared to have been contaminated with salmonella.

       These include some Mr Porky products, Jay’s Pork Scratchings and The Real Pork Crackling Company Pork Crunch that have best before dates up to and including 19 February 2022.

       Customers who have already bought these products have been advised not to eat them and return them to the shop where they purchased them for a full refund.

       In a warning over certain pork scratching products and links to salmonella, Tina Potter from the FSA said: “The food business involved has voluntarily suspended its production to put additional controls in place to improve the safety of their products and they have decided on a voluntary basis to withdraw and recall all of the products within shelf-life produced at this site.”

       The FSA said production was voluntary halted at the factory linked to the salmonella outbreak earlier this month after a possible connection was found

       Dr Lesley Larkin from Public Health England said: “We have established a link between the 176 cases based on the analysis of data obtained through whole genome sequencing and epidemiological investigations.

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       “These investigations, together with those carried out by local authorities, have indicated the source of infection is pork scratchings produced by a single company in the UK.”

       Dr Larkin added: “The Food Standards Agency has acted on these findings to mitigate any further risk to public health from the contaminated food.”