Udi’s Gluten Free products including its white and brown sandwich bread and multi-seed bagel were recalled on Tuesday (February 16) after a batch of sunflower seeds used in their production was found to be contaminated with sesame seeds.
Last night (February 17), the UK Food Standards Agency issued a recall notice for two Asda products and five Tesco products (see box below) over fears they could have been manufactured with sesame seed or cross-contaminated with it.
The recall is limited only to products distributed within the UK.
The FSA said that, as manufacturer of these products, Boulder Brands UK has been advised to contact the relevant allergy support organizations, which will tell their members about the recall.
One of 14 major allergens
The contamination does not affect the gluten-free or dairy-free status of the products, but sesame seeds are not part of the product recipes and are not mentioned on the labels, making them a possible health risk for those with an allergy to sesame. Sesame seeds are one of the 14 major allergens that need to be mentioned on labels under the UK’s Food Information Regulation, which came into force in 2014.
Boulder Brands UK, which identified the issue through its own procedures, said it immediately stopped manufacturing the products when the issue was discovered and cleaned all lines that may have been affected.
“We have removed all the contaminated ingredients from our facility,” Boulder Brands UK MD Simon Hazlett told BakeryAndSnacks. “For future production we have sourced an alternative sunflower seed from one of our other approved suppliers and are conducting a thorough investigation into the issue in order to identify the root cause.”
Hazlett said he expects to have the branded products back on shelves in stores by the end of this week.
The recalled products
Udi’s Gluten Free products with a best-before date of February 22 2016 or earlier:
- Udi’s Multi Seeded Bagels (350g)
- Udi’s Multiseed Bread (450g)
- Udi’s Multi Seeded Rolls (300g)
- Udi’s White Sandwich Bread (400g)
- Udi’s Brown Sandwich Bread (400g)
Asda products with a best-before date of February 22 2016 or earlier:
- Asda Free From Sliced White Bread (550g, Barcode: 505407028178)
- Asda Free From Sliced Brown Bread (550g, Barcode: 505407028179)
Tesco (all date codes)
- Tesco Free From Sliced White Bread (550g)
- Tesco Free From Sliced Brown Bread (550g)
- Tesco Free From Seeded Brown Bread (550g)
- Tesco Free From Full Seeded Brown Rolls (300g)
- Tesco Free From Multi Seeded Bloomer (400g, only available from the instore bakery)