HelloFresh confirms ingredients in WA deliveries could be contaminated with Listeria

A Perth dad is worried sick after he received a text from HelloFresh warning him that ingredients his family had already consumed had potentially been contaminated.

Nick Mitchell was sent a text from the popular meal-kit provider on Monday telling him to throw out the leafy greens provided in his most recent delivery.

“Our supplier has just advised, as of (09/09/2024), there may be a food health safety issue in the mixed salad or baby spinach that you received in your most recent HelloFresh box that can be harmful if consumed,” the text message read.

“Please discard the product. If you have already consumed this recipe and are concerned, please contact us or seek medical advice.”

Mr Mitchell immediately rang the company for answers on what had contaminated the food and was told it could be Listeria.

Listeria bacteria can be found in soil, water and animal feces and can cause fevers, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea in people who have been infected.

While most Listeria infections go unnoticed, it can be life-threatening in some cases and can be especially harmful to pregnant women, people older than 65 and people with weakened immune systems.

More than ten Reddit users also reported receiving the text message, with some claiming they felt sick and even vomited after eating the contaminated ingredients.

Others have expressed concerns about becoming sick in the future, noting that sometimes the first signs of Listeria infection can take a month to appear.

HelloFresh told PerthNow that the potential contamination only affected WA deliveries.

“Our third-party supplier had advised us on September 9 that they were conducting a withdrawal for Mixed Salad and Baby Spinach, which we had been alerted was from a batch potentially contaminated with Listeria that can be harmful if consumed.

“This batch was localised to the WA market.

“We immediately informed all of our WA customers who received recipes including mixed salad or baby spinach from September 5, 2024, through September 8, 2024, and asked them to immediately dispose of the ingredient.

“We can confirm that mixed leave and baby spinach were the only ingredients in deliveries that may potentially have been affected. All other ingredients are safe to consume.”

The company said they will be providing a $5 credit per bag of baby spinach or mixed salad.