Sainsbury's recalls watercress from stores following E.coli outbreak

The supermarket giant Sainsbury's has recalled watercress from store shelves following an E.coli outbreak.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said the recall, which included salads containing watercress, came as a “precautionary measure due to a possible association” with the E.coli outbreak that affected 15 people.

Sainsbury's tonight said that one of the FSA “lines of inquiry” was that the people who fell ill had bought watercress at Sainsbury's stores since 1 August.

The retailer added that it had withdrawn six lines of pre-packed salad products as a “precautionary measure”.

No traces of E.coli have been found in the products to date, Sainsbury's said. The FSA's investigations continue.