A few days before Hellofresh was kicked out of the leading German index Dax, the cookery box sender received a warning from the US authorities about contaminated hacks.
The food regulator FSIS said certain packs of minced meat in Hellofresh boxes could be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
Concerned that customers may still have the batches shipped in July in their freezers, the FSIS warned that the minced meat should be thrown away.
Hellofresh explained that a very small proportion of customers in the USA were affected.
Hellofresh shares fell.
E. coli infections
The US agency was investigating an outbreak of E. coli infections on the trail of raw hack in Hellofresh meal kits, the USDA, part of the US Department of Agriculture, said over the weekend.
The bacteria can cause diarrheal diseases.
The FSIS refrained from a recall on the grounds that the affected batches were no longer on the market.
The source of the E. coli bacteria will continue to be sought.
A Hellofresh spokeswoman said a very small proportion of US customers who received a certain quantity of ground beef from a certain supplier were affected.
The US Department of Agriculture's notification is purely a precautionary measure.
"If prepared correctly, the product can be consumed without hesitation." Hellofresh is working closely with the USDA and the affected suppliers as part of the investigation.
“By the way, our production facilities in the USA are all certified with the highest food safety certification, SQF.”
The USA is the most important market for the Berlin start-up company, which has to leave the Dax on September 19th.
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The shares of the company, which had benefited massively from the corona pandemic with closed premises and home offices, had fallen significantly this year.
After the announcement from the USA, the titles slipped almost six percent on Monday at the start of trading in Frankfurt.
Over time, Hellofresh was able to limit the losses to 2.6 percent.