What we know about the peanut mustard contamination scare
People with peanut allergies are being urged to continue avoiding eating products containing mustard while investigations continue into potential contamination.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) issued urgent allergy advice last week over potential contamination of products containing mustard - such as dips, sauces, salads and pre-packed sandwiches - as they may have been contaminated with peanut.
The agency said it had traced the contaminated ingredients to a producer in India called GT Agro Industries and had identified one company who has supplied these ingredients for use in UK food.
On Saturday FGS Ingredients, a Leicester-based firm which the FSA said had supplied these ingredients for use in UK food, said it had carried out additional testing across its ingredients and had “not detected any presence of peanut content or residue”.
But the FSA has since urged people with allergies to continue to avoid the products while investigations continue.
Here is what we know and don't know about the situation:-
What we know
The FSA issued urgent advice saying people with a peanut allergy should avoid eating products containing mustard because they may have been contaminated.
The agency said it was urgently working with relevant local authorities, individual businesses and industry to identify which products may be affected by the potential peanut contamination.
It said it had traced the contaminated ingredients to a producer in India called GT Agro Industries as well as one company who had supplied the ingredients for use in UK food.
The UK company affected, FGS Ingredients Ltd, advised customers to remove from sale products containing the contaminated mustard ingredients.
Leicester-based FGS later said it had carried out additional testing across its ingredients and had “not detected any presence of peanut content or residue”.
But Darren Whitby, the FSA’s head of incidents, said: “Our advice still applies – those with a peanut allergy should avoid consuming products containing mustard as an ingredient until we identify the individual products affected."
What we don't know
The FSA has shared a list of potentially affected products but it is not known yet if any others may have been affected, as investigations are continuing into whether others could also be contaminated.
So far, no reports have suggested that anyone has suffered an allergic reaction as a result of the contamination, though given the range of products and their widespread distribution, it is possible.
It is also not known how long people with peanut allergies will have to avoid the listed products, given the authorities are still looking into the situation.
What foods could be affected
Mustard ingredients can be found in food such as dips, sauces, salads and pre-packed sandwiches.
A full list of potentially-affected products, listed on the FSA website, includes Harvester sauces, SPAR readymade sandwiches, Dominos dips and other products.
The FSA advised: “If mustard is present in a food, it should be labelled in bold on the packet because it is an allergen itself. If there is a risk that mustard could be unintentionally present in food there will be a ‘may contain’ label for mustard.
“If you are eating out, please ask the cafe or restaurant staff if any of their products contain mustard – by law, food businesses must provide this information to customers.”
FSA head of incidents Darren Whitby added: “Parents and carers of children who have a peanut allergy should take care to check the labels of food they buy and, if eating out, or getting a takeaway, ask the restaurant or cafe about foods that might contain mustard.
