Recall gallery: Salmonella, undeclared allergens and plastic

Asda 2 Original Chicken Chargrills with the batch code 31120953 and a best before date of 5 September 2022 were recalled as a result of the presence of Salmonella​. The recall applied to 170g packs of the item.

In February, UK food safety bodies issued a warning to consumers​​ to properly prepare frozen poultry products. That followed reports of hundreds of cases of salmonellosis since January 2020 caused by two strains of salmonella enteriditis​​​. The Food Standards Agency has confirmed the Asda recall is linked to its continuing investigation into the salmonellosis cases.

Commenting on the investigation, a spokesman for the FSA told Food Manufacture: "Work continues to try to identify the source of the salmonella, in Poland."​

As with previously recalled items potentially contaminated with Salmonella​, consumers were advised to not eat the product and instead return it to the store it was purchased from for a full refund.

Undeclared allergens​

A number of products were also pulled from store shelves since the start of April for containing undeclared allergens.

Yekta Foods recalled Kambiz Iranian Sauce because the label did not mention that the ingredient dried whey was a product derived from milk.

The recall applied to 680g packs of the product with the best before date of end of June 2023 and the batch code 210-04-01-913.

Allergens not labelled in English​

Heron Foods recalled two Milka bar products because the allergens were not labelled in English.

Milka Daim bars (100g), best before 30 October 2021 and Milka Yoghurt bars (100g), best before 1 February 2022 did not clearly state they contained gluten (wheat), milk, nuts (almond, hazelnut) and soya.

This week, supermarket giant Tesco recalled its own-label Tzatziki because of undeclared egg. This was due to a packaging error where some packs contained sour cream and chive dip, making the product potentially harmful for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to egg.

Included in the recall were 200g packs of Tzatziki with the use by date of 12 April 2021.

Packaging error​

A packaging error also led to Dunnes Stores pulling 1.5kg packs of Irish Turkey Breast Crown with Prime Wings with the use by date of 5 April 2021 from shelves.

The packaging did not display the correct cooking instructions. If cooked to the instructions, the product might not have been cooked throughout, rendering it unsafe to eat.

According to Dunnes, this was due to an incorrect product weight, which invalidated the cooking instructions.

Plastic contamination​

Plastic contamination also sparked two separate product recalls in April involving retailers Morrisons and Aldi.

Some packs of Aldi GB Harvest Morn Crisp Rice (375g) –  with the batch codes 10470953, 10480953, 10490953 and a best before date of November 2021 – were found to contain small pieces of plastic, making the product unsafe to eat.

A similar recall was reported by Morrisons for 375g packs of Choco Crackles breakfast cereal, after pieces of plastic were discovered in some boxes.

In both cases, the retailers advised consumers not to eat the products and instead return them to the stores they were purchased from to receive a full refund.

Meanwhile, meatballs, cake and yogurts were just some of the products recalled due to food safety issues in the last month, covered in this roundup.​​