Labelling errors spark food recalls

Two cooked meat products from Houghton Hams – branded Northamptonshire Cured Ham – sold in Waitrose stores have been recalled, after being labelled with the wrong use-by date.

The products – 140g packs of Northamptonshire Cured Ham and Northamptonshire Honey Roast Ham – had been marked with the use-by date of August 19 2018, instead of August 19 2017.

The Food Standards Agency said consuming the products after the intended use-by date could pose a risk of food poisoning. Consumers who had bought the products were advised to return them to a Waitrose stores for a full refund.

Houghton Hams apologised for the inconvenience caused to its customers.

‘Possible health risk’

Unlabelled gluten and mustard sparked the recall of four products produced by Poe, making them a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to these ingredients.

The recall applied to 300g packs of Beans with Bacon, 400g packs of Beans with Bacon and Sausages, 300g packs of Beans with Sausages and 160g packs of Pretzel with Oat and Olive Pomace Oil. See below for a full list of affected products and use-by dates.

Consumers with an allergy or intolerance to mustard or gluten who had bought the products were advised to not eat them and instead return them to the stores they were bought for a full refund.

Last week also saw fears of glass contamination forced the recall of a number products produced by Peter’s Food Service sold in Asda and Lidl.

Precautionary measure

The batch of products was recalled as a precautionary measure, due to a potential contamination incident at Peter’s Food’s factory in Bedwas, south Wales.

Md Mike Grimwood said: “The company does not believe that any of its products have been affected.”

“We immediately informed the Food Standards Agency and are working with them, and our customers, to remove this small batch from point of sale where applicable as a precaution.

You can read more about the recall here.

Meanwhile, recalls of chicken and poultry meat products across Europe are at a 15-year high, according to a report from business consultancy Stericycle Expert Solutions, with bacterial contamination accounting for more than 90% of food alerts.