Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) have confirmed that all necessary food safety measures have been put in place and affected products removed from sale following an investigation into mustard products being contaminated with peanuts.
As a result, they have lifted their precautionary advice to people with a peanut allergy to avoid eating foods that contain or may contain mustard, mustard powder, mustard seeds or mustard flour both in the home and when eating out as these products are now safe to eat.
FSS and the FSA are assured that actions taken in response to the initial food safety concerns have been addressed, following extensive investigations by Leicester City Council, the enforcing Local Authority, and FGS Ingredients Limited, supported by FSS and the FSA, as well as checks on supply chains by retailers and manufacturers. In addition, FSS and the FSA are assured that there is no increased risk to consumers from other mustard products, that have not been supplied by FGS.
FSS and the FSA continue to advise food manufacturers and food businesses to review their food supply systems and remove any products that are affected by precautionary recalls from FGS Ingredients Limited.
It is important that people with a peanut allergy should continue to avoid products that are listed in the allergy alert. Consumers and businesses are urged to check whether they still have any of the affected products listed and if so, they should follow the advice in the alerts.
Some mustard-based products will now have a precautionary allergen label (PAL) and consumers with a peanut allergy should check whether products they might have previously purchased carry these labels.
The consumer guidance can be found here: https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/consumers/food-crime/report-a-problem/mustard-products-containing-peanuts-incident
