ENVIRONMENTAL health officers have been praised by a councillor for their quick response to a product recall involving a potentially life-threatening bacteria.

Officers contacted more than 95 Polish stores and delis after being alerted by the Food Standards Agency about problems with Sokolow Home or Grill black sausages, which may have contained Listeria.

They advised them to take the product off the shelves and visited 70 of the outlets to make sure they had done so, stopping the spread of the bug which can be fatal for the elderly, pregnant and those with weak immune systems.

They also discovered three previously unknown outlets through the visits and were able to alert them as well.

Councillor Melvin Cohen, who is in charge of civic affairs, said: "At Barnet Council we have a duty to protect the health of consumers, but what the Environmental Health team achieved on this occasion went beyond this.”