Kiwi yoghurt company caught up in huge UK supermarket recall

The Collective's blueberry yoghurt was reportedly pulled from Tesco supermarkets around the UK.

Major UK supermarkets are recalling thousands of popular yoghurts amid fears they may contain rubber and could pose a major 'health risk'.

Waitrose, Tesco, Asda, the Co-op and Sainsbury's have all been affected by the recall notice which applies to 23 brands made by Yeo Valley.

The retailers' yoghurts from own brands like Tesco's Finest and Sainsbury's Basics have been taken off the shelves, as well as the Somerset-based company's Collective Dairy Packs.

Collective Dairy began as a New Zealand company. Its New Zealand products are not affected by the recall.

Yeo Valley confirmed that rubber was found in one of the fruit conserves added to its yoghurts and provided by an outside supplier.

The UK Food Standards Agency issued the notice and said the items 'may contain pieces of rubber'.

Officials added: 'If you have bought any of the above products, do not eat them.
'Instead, follow the advice on the point-of-sale notices.'

Yeo Valley is best known for its Yeo Valley Organic yoghurts in large pots and has become a household name since launching in 1992.

It has benefitted from a recent surge in popularity for organic products and its yoghurts are the fourth most popular in the UK, behind Muller Corners, Activias and Muller Lights.

A spokesman for Yeo Valley said: "We can confirm that a piece of rubber was found in a fruit conserve.

"The supplier had identified the cause and identified all fruit conserves, an ingredient used in yoghurts, that may be affected.

"Whilst the risk is considered to be low, we will be disposing of any potentially affected yoghurts that have not yet been dispatched, as well as recalling the relevant batches of products from those affected retailers.

"We are working with the Food Standards Agency and the supplier in question. We would like to apologise unreservedly to all customers."

It comes just days after budget supermarket Lidl recalled some of its yoghurt and peanuts because the packets don't warn customers that they contain milk and nuts.

The recall is an isolated incident affecting only the wild berry flavoured yoghurt.

The German low-cost supermarket chain has taken the eight-pack of Milbona Fruit Yoghurt and Alesto Honey Peanuts off its shelves in the UK.

People who have bought the items have been asked to return them to their nearest store to get refunded.

A statement from Lidl said: "Lidl UK is recalling Milbona Fruit Yoghurt, 8 x 125g, Use by Date 18.08.16 only, due to milk not being declared in English on a small number of items.

"Lidl UK is recalling Alesto Honey Peanuts, 200g, Best Before Date 02.2017 only, due to peanuts not being declared in English on a small number of packets."

Similarly, in April Sainsbury's had to recall two batches of children's yoghurts in April for fears they may contain plastic.

They recalled their Strawberry Fromage Frais Pouches amid fears they may contain pieces of blue plastic, and a Muller Kids Corner Butterflies Strawberry yoghurt four-pack, because of the potential for a small disc to be present in one of the pots.

The food giant called the recall a 'precautionary measure' and said that anyone who has bought the 4x90g packs should return them to the store.

It comes just days after IKEA was forced to urgently recall a number of its chocolate bars after they were found to contain nuts.

The retailer called on customers with nut allergies not to eat any of the chocolate bars affected and instead to bring them back to a branch of the shopping giant.

In February, a health scare was sparked after plastic was found in a chocolate bar leading to Mars Chocolate UK recalling Mars bars, Snickers, Celebrations and Milky Way bars.