The recall of Sainsbury’s sliced wholemeal bread was announced on Monday (January 18) after the retailer received a warning from its supplier Allied Bakeries.
“Our supplier has made us aware of the possible presence of tiny metal pieces in a small number of the above products,” Sainsbury’s recall notice said.
“As a precautionary measure, we are asking customers who have purchased this product with the best before date, to return it to their nearest Sainsbury’s store, where they will receive a full refund.”
‘Apologised for the inconvenience’
Allied Bakeries said the recall was limited to a batch of bread baked at its Walthamstow bakery on the January 14, with a best before day of January 19. It covered thick and medium sliced bread.
Apology from supplier
“We apologise to any customers who may have been affected.”
- Spokeswoman, Allied Bakeries
“Our priority is always the safety of our consumers and quality of our products and we have launched a full investigation,” an Allied Bakeries spokeswoman said.
“We apologise to any customers who may have been affected.”
A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said an employee on the production side discovered a very small “smooth” piece of metal in a loaf of bread, but there were no customer complaints.
“We launched a full investigation as a matter of urgency and, as a precaution, took the decision to remove the product from our shelves,” she said.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said: “The presence of metal pieces makes these products unsafe to eat and presents a risk to health.”
Customer Karen Watson, from Rochford, posted on Sainsbury’s Facebook page following the retailer’s bread recall.
‘What do we do if we’ve eaten it?’
“Very kind of you to mail me a product recall on a recently purchased loaf of bread that might contain ‘tiny metal pieces’, but what do we do if we’ve eaten it already?” she asked.
“Ask nearby London Southend Airport to run us through their metal detector?”
Meanwhile, frozen food retailer lceland has recalled frozen Jim Beam Bourbon Ribs because the packaging incorrectly said the products should be refrigerated.
“This is a frozen product. Some products have been incorrectly labelled ‘chilled product, keep refrigerated’,” the recall notice said.
Customers were told not to eat the ribs, which would spoil if not kept in the freezer. The 450g packs had a use by date of March 25 2017.
Sainsbury’s metal contamination incident follows a series of similar recalls last year.
In September Premier Foods blamed a production fault for its recall of thousands of tubs of Bisto chicken gravy granules that may have contained metal pieces.
In May the failure of a potato blanching machine contaminated Swancote Foods’s potato products with bits of metal, prompting the recall of several retail own-label lines.
Recalls affected potato salad and coleslaw lines supplied to Tesco and Sainsbury as well as cottage pies, shepherd’s pies and fish pies supplied to Sainsbury, Waitrose and Morrisons stores.
