Quorn’s metal fears leads latest food recalls

Quorn recalled its Meat Free Mince last week (on March 2), over fears it might contain pieces of metal.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) warned the public against eating Quorn’s 300g packs of Meat Free Mince, as it could represent a safety risk. The recall only affected Quorn Meat Free Mince bought from Tesco, with a best before date of August 31 2018.

A Quorn statement read: “This product is being recalled as a precaution due to metal contamination. Please return any Quorn Mince 300g with Date Code of 136331 BBE 31/8/18 to your retailer for a full refund.”

The recall would hit the food manufacturer hard, in terms of reputational damage and cost, claimed Epicor Software sales director Stuart Hall. Manufacturers could prevent recalls with the right planning, he added.

Hall said: “Such events highlight that food and drink manufacturers have distinct needs, and face huge risks unique to their business.

‘Huge risks’

“The right enterprise resource planning solution is a great resource for manufacturers and is specifically designed to prevent the contamination of products, avoid any following recalls but assist in the recovery plan if they do.”

Last week, Tesco recalled its frozen Spaghetti Bolognese because it contained egg that was not listed on the label. The FSA said the product was a possible health risk for anyone with an egg allergy or intolerance.

The recall – issued on March 3 – affected all 400g packs of Tesco’s frozen Spaghetti Bolognese. The supermarket said it “apologises to our customers for any inconvenience caused”.

February saw a number of other food products recalled, including Sainsbury’s stir fry, Morrisons’ Peppered Beef Slices and Waitrose’s Frozen 2 Breaded Haddock Fillets.

Sainsbury recalled seven of its stir fry products over fears they contained salmonella, it revealed on February 9. The recalled products – including Sainsbury’s Oriental Style Vegetable Stir Fry and Sainsbury’s Basics Stir Fry – all had a use by date of February 13.

‘Possible presence of Salmonella’

A Sainsbury statement read: “Routine testing has identified the possible presence of salmonella in a small number of packs of the above products.

“No other products or date codes are affected by this issue, and we apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”

Morrisons’ Peppered Beef Slices were recalled after low-levels of listeria were found in the product. Routine testing found Listeria monocytogenes in the 150g packs – with a use by date of February 21.

“We are asking all customers who have bought this use by date of this product not to consume it and to return it to their nearest Morrisons store where they will receive a full refund,” Morrisons said.

Waitrose recalled its Frozen 2 Breaded Haddock Fillets, after it was mistakenly packaged with battered haddock fillets – containing milk and mustard. The label therefore didn’t declare the product contain milk and mustard.

Waitrose said: “Any customers who have an allergy to milk or mustard should not consume this product, but return it to Waitrose for a full refund. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”