Selver supermarket subsidiary Kulinaaria OÜ made the find, after which it immediately ended cooperation with Oskari Lihatööstus.

The products were not to be sold at retail, but were a wholesale product intended for the food industry, according to daily Postimees.

Kulinaaria executives say that the bacteria were found during a random check on a ham product.

Kulinaaria as a supplier of ready-made food to Selver reportedly performs daily product checks, from different product categories.

"An oven fillet from Lihatööstus in its original packaging was taken to a laboratory as a random sample, from which the laboratory detected Listeria monocytogenes," Selver spokesperson Rivo Veski said, according to BNS.

Veski added that the raw material had not reached production processes and had been returned to the manufacturer.

"Following this find, Kulinaaria OÜ no longer uses products from Oskari Lihatööstus in the preparation of its products. To check on the reliability of suppliers, we also conduct local audits at their production facilities and warehouses," Veski added.

The news comes three days after fish processing plant M.V.Wool was ordered to close its two plants, in Harku and Vihterpalu, following another discovery of Listeria bacteria. Earlier finds had led to the company closing its plants for sterilization in mid-October, but with the reappearance of Listeria bacteria strains linked to the deaths last year of two people in Estonia, and several more Europe-wide, the Veterinary and Food Board (VTA) ordered M.V.Wool to cease operations. Should the company prove that it is free of Listeria going forward, it may be able to reopen its facilities.

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!