Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah denied reports circulating in social media that Gala and Granny Smith apples from California were banned in Malaysia as they were contaminated with the bacterial strain Listeria monocytogenes.
“No issue now,” he told the Straits Times in response to whether the fruits have since been given the green light.
Noor Hisham said that the reports being shared on social media were old news being recirculated.
Consumption of food tainted with the bacteria can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, nausea, and, in severe cases, death. For pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriage or stillbirth. Symptoms typically begin three to 70 days after eating the tainted food. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics.
In 2015, Malaysia joined the Philippines and Thailand in seizing or recalling the apples. The affected batch was produced by Bidart Bros.
Although Bidart Bros said that the last shipment of the affected apples was made on December 2, 2014, the damage had already been done, as a listeria outbreak stemming from packaged caramel apples made from the affected batch caused several deaths in the US earlier that year.