An international alert has been issued by the Spanish government amid the country’s biggest ever outbreak of listeria, which has affected 150 people and killed a 90-year-old woman.

The health ministry has said it is checking a further 523 suspected cases.

Most of the confirmed cases are in the south of the country in Andalusia, the region where a packaged pork plant believed to be connected with the outbreak is located.

But there have also been cases as far north as Catalonia, where around 50 people have been hospitalised.

Listeriosis is usually caught from eating food infected with the listeria bacteria and usually causes mild sickness, however it can be dangerous to those with weakened immune systems and also pregnant women – of which 23 have been hospitalised.

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The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: In this aerial view ice floats jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: An iceberg looms behind a boat carrying tourists at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Visitors look out onto free-floating ice jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. 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(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: A boat carrying tourists motors past an iceberg at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Free-floating ice floats jammed into the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: Humpback whales spout water as they swim next to an iceberg in the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: Icebergs and ice float in the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 31: Tourists on an excursion boat photograph an iceberg during unseasonably warm weather on July 31, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. 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(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: Water drips from ice in the Ilulissat Icefjord during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - JULY 30: An iceberg floats in Disko Bay behind houses during unseasonably warm weather on July 30, 2019 in Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe is arriving in Greenland. 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(Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) ***BESTPIX*** Sean Gallup Getty Images Climate change: Greenland ice cap accelerated retreating ILULISSAT, GREENLAND - AUGUST 04: In this view from an airplane humpback whales swim next to an iceberg at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord on August 04, 2019 near Ilulissat, Greenland. The Sahara heat wave that recently sent temperatures to record levels in parts of Europe has also reached Greenland. Climate change is having a profound effect in Greenland, where over the last several decades summers have become longer and the rate that glaciers and the Greenland ice cap are retreating has accelerated. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Sean Gallup Getty Images

The ministry said it had issued alerts to European Union (EU) authorities and the World Health Organisation over the outbreak, which has killed a 90-year-old woman.

The plant in question, owned by Seville-based Magrudis, was inspected by health authorities after lab tests showed the presence of listeria in one of its products, the ministry said.

All products manufactured in the plant since 1 May have been recalled.

The company has not responded to requests for comment.

“Obviously there was a failure to follow the established procedures," acting health minister Maria Luisa Carcedo told reporters. “Now we need to carry out the inspections and investigations to figure out exactly where this failure took place.”

Six people were killed earlier this year in the UK after hospital food was contaminated with the listeria bacteria.