Bourbon creams recalled

FOOD giant United Biscuits is recalling five brands of bourbon creams following fears the treats could contain 1cm-long pieces of metal wire.

The biscuits, sold in Aldi, Costcutter and other stores in Ireland, are being recalled as a precaution, the makers said.

The affected brands are:

Aldi Belmont Biscuit Co 1kg sweet biscuit assortment with a best-before date of May 31.

Aldi Belmont Biscuit Co 300g bourbon creams and Heritage bourbons (400g) with a March 29 date.

Costcutter bourbons 400g with a March 22 date.

Parkside bourbons 400g with best-before dates of June 21 and June 28.

The British-based firm is urging shoppers to return the packs to the store where they were bought for a full refund. The United Biscuits (UB) recall brings to 23 the number of times the food industry has put out public alerts about safety so far this year in Ireland.

Yesterday, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) confirmed United Biscuits had also informed the Irish authorities of the recall.

“Legislation now says that food companies have to do recalls and they are good at it,” said food authority spokeswoman Jane Ryder.

“It’s in their best interests to do it for their customers and their brand.”

The company said the recall of the biscuits — all made in Carlisle, northern England — was voluntary and due to possible contamination with small pieces of thin metal wire following a machine breakdown.

The biscuit maker also has a hotline on freephone 1800-409317 for concerned customers in Ireland.

Callers are being told the thin metal strips are about 1cm-long. Anyone eating a contaminated biscuit would have felt the metal in their mouth, according to staff manning the line.

Four British consumers complained after finding metal in their biscuits but no-one in Ireland has made a complaint yet, United Biscuits said.

www.food.gov.uk/news