Udi's Gluten Free UK products recalled due to sesame seed contamination
Products including its white and brown sandwich bread and multi-seed bagel – with best-before dates of February 22 or earlier – have been pulled from shelves after a batch of sunflower seeds used in their production was found to be contaminated with sesame seeds (see list of affected products below).
The recall is limited to products distributed within the UK.
Although the contamination does not affect the gluten-free or dairy-free status of the products, sesame seeds are not part of the product recipes and are not mentioned on the labels, making them a possible health risk for anyone 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.
Udi's recalled products
The affected products – which all have a best-before date of February 22 2016 or earlier - are:
- 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)
Contamination spotted internally
The contamination was noticed internally by Boulder Brands UK’s own procedures. The company said it stopped manufacturing the products as soon as the issue was identified in the bakery and cleaned all lines that may have been affected.
“We have removed all the contaminated ingredients from our facility,” Boulder Brands UK managing director 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.”
Products due back on shelf
Hazlett said he expects to have the products back on shelves in stores by the end of this week.
US gluten-free business Boulder Brands brought the Udi’s Gluten Free brand to the UK in May 2013, when it acquired Cheshire-based gluten-free business Davies Bakery.
Pinnacle Foods last month completed its acquisition of Boulder Brands.
