E. coli risk: Buitoni recalls all Fraîch’up frozen pizzas in France

Frozen pizza brand Buitoni (owned by Nestlé) is immediately recalling its entire range of Fraîch'up pizzas from shops in France and other countries due to a risk of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria in the dough.

The brand announced the recall yesterday (March 18), saying it was only a precautionary measure. It is asking all customers who bought a Fraîch'up pizza before then to not consume it and throw it away.

It stated that there was no danger to people who have already consumed the frozen pizzas as E. coli bacteria is killed when heated in the oven.

Customers who have bought one of the pizzas can get a refund by:

• Taking a photo of the packaging with the product references (minimum durability date, barcode number, batch number, production time)

• Contacting the customer service on 0 809 400 412

The company did specify how many products were affected or the exact countries concerned.

It comes after public health authorities in France announced a resurgence of serious cases of E.coli bacteria contamination, which have led to the death of two children since the beginning of the year.

Santé publique France stated that as of March 11, 26 cases of Hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition that affects kidneys and has links to E. coli contamination, have been identified in children aged between one and 15 years old. Two of the children died.

Pierre-Alexandre Teulié, general manager in charge of communications for Nestlé France, said:

"There is no proven link between our products and the intoxications that occurred.”

He said that the recall was an “initiative by Buitoni” and was a precautionary measure.

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