Waitrose and Aldi have recalled thousands of jars of pesto after they were found to contain traces of peanut without warning of the ingredient on their labels.
The Food Standards Agency issued an alert after it found that 25 pesto products might have been contaminated and could pose a risk to anyone with an allergy to the nut.
The products in question are from Italian sauce company Sacla, which makes pestos for Waitrose and Aldi in addition to its own branded range.
Sacla said on Saturday it had recalled every batch of its pesto that contained cashew nuts over concerns they were contaminated by peanuts.
“Public health and safety is our number one priority, so we have taken the decision to recall every batch of every pesto containing cashew nuts as a precaution,” the company said.
“Some of the cashew nuts coming in to our factory may contain random traces of peanut, and this has affected some of our pesto.
“Sacla products that do not contain cashew nuts are not affected.”
Waitrose confirmed it had recalled the affected jars of pesto and apologised for the “inconvenience”.
The supermarket said in a statement: “Customers with a peanut allergy are advised not to consume any of these products of any date code and to return them to their local Waitrose for a full refund.”
The Food Standars Agency said customers could return the affected products to the shop where they were purchased in exchange for a full refund.
The items that have been recalled are:
Waitrose
Basil Pesto; Waitrose Cavolo Nero Pesto; Waitrose Chilli Pesto; Waitrose Essential Basil Pesto; Waitrose Essential Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto; Waitrose Rocket Pesto; Waitrose Tomato Pesto
Aldi
Aldi’s Cucina Basil Pesto and Cucina Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
Sacla
Sacla ‘Nduja Pesto; Sacla Reduced Fat Basil Pesto; Sacla Reduced Fat Tomato Pesto; Sacla Sun-dried Tomato Pesto 190g and 2x45g; Sacla Truffle Pesto; Sacla Vegan Basil Pesto 190g and 950g; Sacla Black Olive Pesto; Sacla Chargrilled Aubergine Pesto; Sacla Classic Basil Pesto 90g, 190g, 290g, 950g and 2x45g; Sacla Gift Pack Pesto Trio
According to Allergy UK, around one in 50 children and one in 200 adults in Britain are allergic to peanuts.
