Tesco withdraws eight own-label ethnic meals

Tesco is recalling eight Indian and Chinese own-label ambient meals, due to a production fault.

The supermarket giant said it was recalling the products because the fault meant the rice in some packs could become mouldy during storage.

Products affected by the recall include Tesco own-label: Indian Chicken Jalfrezi, Szechuan Chicken, Chilli Con Carne, Chicken Tikka Masala, Beef in Black Bean Sauce, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Indian Chicken Korma and Balti Vegetable Curry

The recall affects all 350g packs of the products. All date codes of the products are being recalled.

Notices have been displayed in stores to warn people about the recall.

At the end of June Tesco recalled its own-label yeast extract, because of fears it might contain high levels of histamine. The recall affected its 225g Tesco Yeast Extract product.

Food Safety Conference

Meanwhile, the latest advice on how to avoid a product recall will feature in Food Manufacture’s one-day Food Safety Conference, to take place at the National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull on Thursday October 17 2013.

Our expert panel of speakers will deliver the latest thinking on how food and drink manufacturers can avoid food safety problems that could lead to product recalls costing millions of pounds.

The conference aims to ensure your systems are fit for purpose and able to detect potential chemical or pathogen contamination incidents.

Under discussion will be: managing risk and regulatory responsibilities in a changing world, how to ensure your products are safe and legal and regaining consumer trust in the wake of the horsemeat crisis.

Managing risk

The conference will be chaired by Professor Colin Dennis, former president of the Institute of Food Science & Technology and a former director general of Campden BRI.

Speakers will include:

Andrew Rhodes, operations director at the Food Standards Agency, on the regulatory framework governing food safety.

Sue Davies, chief policy adviser for consumer watchdog Which? who will discuss what damage to consumer trust has been caused by ‘horsegate’ and how this can be regained.

Mark Woolfe, a former authenticity expert at the Food Standards Agency, who will explain why the testing regime fell down in the case of horsemeat and suggest how similar attempts to pass off inferior ingredients can be avoided in future.

David Brackston, British Retail Consortium technical director, will explain how third-party food safety audits can provide reassurance about the integrity of the food supply chain.

Professor Tony Hines, head of food security and crisis management at Leatherhead Food Research, will describe the latest thinking on crisis management: identifying where problems are likely to occur and mitigating their impact when they do.

Dominic Watkins, legal expert from DWF, will highlight real cases where product recalls have been handled well – and where they haven’t.

René Crevel, science leader, allergy & immunology with Unilever, will discuss the latest thinking on allergen controls and thresholds.

Patrik Sjöberg, product director from computer systems specialist Infor, will discuss the use of computer-based traceability systems.

Professor Bob Newman, University of Wolverhampton School of Technology, will describe a recently completed EU food traceability research project.

More information about the conference is available here.

Alternatively, telephone Ellie Ray on 01293 610279 or email ellie.ray@wrbm.com