Do not consume warning issued as major supermarket pulls chiller cabinet favourite from shelves
Shoppers have been urged to check their freezers as a seafood product may be five months out of date, and therefore unsafe to eat.
Supermarket Waitrose issued an urgent recall on its own brand Seafood Sticks due to the product being printed with an incorrect best before date.
Food safety regulators said the actual best before date for the product was October 5 last year, meaning eating it now could make people ill.
Those who have bought the product have been told ‘do not consume’ and to return to their local Waitrose for a full refund.
Regulator the Food Standards Agency, which publishes the alerts, issues recalls when problems are spotted with food that could be potentially harmful to consumers.
‘If you have bought the above product do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund,’ the notice reads.
Eating expired food is a known risk factor for food poisoning.
Food that has been stored too long is at increased risk of being contaminated by harmful bacteria that can make us ill.
If ingested, this can cause problems like nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and a high temperature.
Supermarket Waitrose issued an urgent recall on its own brand Seafood Sticks due to the product being printed with an incorrect best before date.
Food poisoning is a common ailment in Britain with an estimated nearly 2.5million cases recorded in the UK per year.
The vast majority of these are mild but for some people, like the elderly, it can be far more serious with an estimated 200 fatalities per year.
The latest recall follows several other product warnings in recent weeks.
Foods pulled from shelves include cereals, cheeses and crisps with issues ranging from allergy risks, choking hazards and bacteria contamination.
