A minimum of forty distinct varieties of store-bought sandwiches, wraps, and salads have been removed from the shelves after a watchdog issued a warning not to consume them.
‘Do not eat’ alerts have been slapped on products made by Greencore, who produce 1.7 million sandwiches daily making them the world’s largest manufacturer.
Additionally, a different alert was sent out about sandwiches produced by Samworth Brothers Manton Wood.
It is thought that some batches sold in ten separate stores—Asda, Amazon, Boots, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s, Co-op, Tesco, OneStop, Aldi, and The Gym Kitchen—may be tainted with E. coli.
The bug—which can kill—usually causes a fever, sickness and diarrhoea. Its symptoms typically fade naturally within days.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) have said that the recall was a ‘precautionary step’.
Among the goods impacted are the Chicken Fajita Triple Wrap from Aldi, the Smoky Beans, Cheddar Cheese Wrap from Asda, and the Vegan No Duck & Hoisin Wrap from Boots.
Other options include the Prawn Layered Salad from Amazon, the Peri Peri Chicken Wrap, and the Greek Style Wrap from Sainsbury’s.
They are said to include a particular type of salad leaf. The warning affects product date codes through June 14, 15, and 16.
All establishments that sell the product will also have point-of-sale notices up, explaining to customers why it is being recalled, according to the FSA.
It added: ‘If you have bought any of the above products do not eat it.
‘Instead, return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund.’
The Greencore Group also said: ‘As a precautionary measure, we have voluntarily recalled a number of sandwiches and wraps due to a potential food safety risk.
‘Greencore adheres to the highest standards of food safety, and we are working closely with the FSA and our suppliers to better understand the possible source of any potential issue.’
A Samworth Brothers Manton Wood spokesperson said: ‘The FSA has advised the supplier of a salad ingredient which we use in a small number of products that it should undertake a product withdrawal and recall.
‘Meanwhile, food chain investigations are being carried out, which have not yet reached any conclusions.
‘A small number of sandwich and wrap lines that are made at our Manton Wood site are being recalled as a precautionary measure to ensure a high level of health protection for consumers.
‘No other Manton Wood products are affected.’
It comes as more than 200 British people have already been diagnosed with the unusual strain of E. coli that causes diarrhoea, known as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), in recent weeks.
The problem with these kinds of recalls on products such as sandwiches is it’s often too late for the consumer. These items are usually consumed on the day for lunch et cetera.
It’s not just about food, but about everything in our nation, the standards have drastically declined in recent years, and it just shows what this country has become. What happened to making our lunches – a sandwich and maybe a bowl of soup, but these days most people want to pay exorbitant prices for something that you could probably make for just under a pound.
What’s wrong with making your own lunch? It’s not hard, but people are just too lazy these days.
We don’t know the origin of the salad that we put into our sandwiches at home, but at least we know we can wash our vegetables before they go in there. Even home-made sandwiches and salads are at risk, and it seems that when eating anything we are playing Russian roulette with our health.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 