UK Supermarket 'Sold Sausages and Ham Infected With Hepatitis'

Hepatitis E can cause liver cirrhosis in vulnerable people.

Pork products sold by a leading British supermarket may have infected thousands of people with a form of hepatitis that can cause liver cirrhosis, according to health officials.

Public Health England (PHE) researchers attempting to pinpoint a link between 60 people with hepatitis E (HEV) found that they had all eaten own-brand sausages and ready-to-eat sliced ham from an unnamed retailer known as Supermarket X, The Times reported. The research was carried out between 2014 and 2016.

The study found that between 150,000 and 200,000 people in the UK are infected with HEV each year.

"Only Supermarket X, especially own brand, was significantly associated with HEV G3-2," the report said, according to The Times. The report follows a 2011 PHE study, which also found that Supermarket X's pork products contained the virus.

In response to the findings, NHS Blood and Transplant has tested blood donations for HEV and plans to screen donated organs and tissue for the virus found in pigs.

Pigs in the UK do not have HEV, but the virus has been detected in pork products from Holland, Germany and other mainland European countries. 

Sources told The Times that they believe Supermarket X was Tesco. However, a spokesperson for the supermarket told The Independent that it works closely with the FSA and PHE to ensure customers can be confident in the safety and quality of the food they buy.

"This particular research was carried out six years ago on a small number of people, and although it provided no direct link between specific products and hepatitis E, we always take care to review research findings such as this. Food quality is really important to us and we have in...