Urgent warning to people with peanut allergies issued

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are advising people who have a peanut allergy to avoid consuming foods that contain or may contain mustard, mustard powder or mustard flour because they may have been contaminated with peanuts.

The mustard ingredients can be found in food such as dips, sauces, salads, and pre-packed sandwiches.

READ MORE: Motor ‘extensively damaged’ after shocking night-time incident

The agencies are now ‘urgently working with the relevant local authorities’, individual businesses, and the industry to identify which products may be affected. 

So far, they have traced the contaminated mustard ingredients to a producer in India called GT Agro Industries and have identified one company that has supplied these ingredients for use in UK food.

Luckily, there is no evidence other suppliers are affected yet.

However, while work is carried out to identify the individual products which may have been contaminated with these mustard ingredients, because of the ‘severity of some allergic reactions to peanuts’, FSS and FSA are taking a precautionary approach so that people with a peanut allergy have up to date information about the potential risk and can take action to keep themselves safe.

They say if mustard is present in a food, it should be labelled in bold on the packet because it is an allergen itself.

Additionally, if there is a risk that mustard could be unintentionally present in food there will be a ‘may contain’ label for mustard.

READ MORE: Several baby mice found ‘screaming in pain’ in Glasgow

Meanwhile, if eating out, people are being urged to ask eateries if any of their products contain mustard.

A spokesperson for the agencies said: “When we find an individual product is affected, we will issue a specific allergy alert on our website.

“The UK company affected has advised their customers to remove from sale products containing the contaminated mustard ingredients.

“We have asked the industry to review their food supply systems and remove from sale any products that may have contaminated mustard ingredients.”

Food Standards Scotland’s Head of Incidents, Stuart McAdam, said: “Those with a peanut allergy should avoid consuming products containing mustard as an ingredient while we urgently investigate.

“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, be extra vigilant and ask the restaurant or cafe about foods that might contain mustard.

“As soon as we have more information, we will update consumers. As always, we urge people with an allergy to sign up for our allergy alerts, so you can be notified about future allergy recalls.”

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}