The French farming ministry on Tuesday said it detected five likely cases of foodborn botulism, a potentially fatal disease, in central France linked to contaminated pesto sauce, adding the sauce had been sold at some market fairs in central France.
According to the World Health Origanisation, botulism is a rare but potentially fatal disease if not diagnosed rapidly and treated with antitoxin.
"Given the incubation period (from a few hours to a few days) and the serious nature of the disease, people who may have consumed these products are urged to be extremely vigilant," the ministry said.