Thousands of yogurts recalled after rubber fault

Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Waitrose and Co-operative were advised to remove the Yeo Valley products from their shelves, as they posed a “possible risk” to health, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said.

All of the recalled products were sold under own-labels, and were manufactured by Yeo Valley. Eighteen brands were affected in total, across five supermarket chains. See box below for a full list of recalled products.

A spokesman at Yeo Valley told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “Yeo Valley can confirm that a piece of rubber was found in a fruit conserve supplied by one of our suppliers.

‘Identified the cause’

“The supplier has identified the cause and has identified all fruit conserves, an ingredient used in fruit yogurts, that may be affected.”

Yeo Valley said the risk of rubber contamination is low. As a precaution the company will dispose of any potentially affected products that have not yet been dispatched.

“Food safety and quality are paramount to Yeo Valley. We are working with the FSA and the supplier in question to ensure it does not happen again. We would like to apologise unreservedly to all customers.”

The supermarkets are asking customers to return the products for a full refund.

Tesco said in a statement: “We have been made aware by our supplier that three varieties of Tesco yogurts may potentially contain pieces of rubber.

“Tesco apologises to customers for any inconvenience caused.”

‘A precautionary measure’

Elsewhere, Co-operative said: “Yeo Valley have advised that as a precautionary measure, all the following use by dates of the below children products are being recalled.

“During production the product has been contaminated with small pieces of rubber.”

News of the recalled yogurts followed similar recalls last month. Tesco and Sainsbury’s own-label pasta products were recalled, sparked by rubber contamination. The FSA declared the products, made by Belgian manufacturer Noliko, may also have contained pieces of rubber.

Earlier this year, Mars recalled millions of products on fears they may contain pieces of plastic. A total of 55 countries were affected by the recall.

Meanwhile, food safety will be the focal point of Food Manufacture Group’s annual one-day Food Safety Conference. The conference takes place on October 13, at Prospero House in London.