A man who was diagnosed with E. coli during the recent deadly outbreak has told Sky News he feared he would die.
John Daniels, a 66-year-old chartered surveyor, fell ill after he said he ate a chicken and bacon Caesar wrap bought at Boots in May.
The product was one of those later recalled as a precautionary measure.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is continuing to investigate the nationwide outbreak of the STEC strain of E. coli.
It has confirmed one person has died among the more than 200 cases of the infection.
Mr Daniels, who lives in Cheshire, spent three weeks in hospital after being diagnosed and continues to be affected by complications.
“I have never been in so much pain, absolutely excruciating pain,” he said.
“What was going through my mind, especially when I had all the drips in and the painkillers weren’t working, was whether this was something more sinister and whether I was actually going to survive.
“There was one particular night I was scared to go to sleep because I thought ‘I’m not going to wake up’.”
The outbreak was linked to lettuce. File pics
Dozens of products were withdrawn from shelves as a precautionary measure after the UKHSA pinpointed lettuce in sandwiches and wraps as a potential source of the infection.
The STEC strain of E. Coli is particularly nasty and almost half of those confirmed to have been infected were admitted to hospital.
Mr Daniels said he was interviewed by the UKHSA while in hospital and has now asked lawyers to investigate his case.
“It should be safe for the general public to go to a shop and buy a sandwich that isn’t going to cause serious illness or, in some cases, worse,” he said.
“It needs to be kept in the public eye that we can’t afford to let our food supply become affected like this.”
The sandwich maker Greencore told Sky News it had no comment to make.
Boots says FSA tests didn’t find E. coli in any of its products. Pic: iStock
In a statement, a Boots spokesperson said: “In response to Greencore’s product recall on 14 June 2024, Boots took the precautionary measure of recalling a number of its sandwiches and wraps.
“There have been no positive results of STEC E. coli in any of the Food Standards Agency’s testing of our products.”
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The number of reported cases is now declining, according to the UKHSA. The person who died in May had underlying health conditions.
A “complex investigation” is continuing to identify the root cause of the outbreak so that actions could be taken to prevent a recurrence.