Marks & Spencer slams unofficial third-party sellers

The retailer’s pork, sage and onion stuffing with a use-by date of December 29 2014 and pork and roasted red onion stuffing with a use-by date of December 26 2014 were among a number of products recalled from butchery chain Nicholls Meats on December 22 2016.

Also included in the recall were Asda’s Extra Special Pork, Mulled Cranberry and Orange Stuffing, as well as several branded and non-branded Nicholls Meats products.

The FSA said products were recalled due to extended use-by dates, inadequate temperature controls, labelling and traceability contraventions. The products posed a risk of food poisoning.

The products affected by the recall were sold to Nicholls Meats by a supplier for M&S and Asda. The sale of the goods breached Asda and M&S’s policies on surplus stock.

Breached Asda and M&S’s policies​

The recall affected products sold at four Nicholls stores in Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Norfolk. No products sold at M&S and Asda stores were affected by the recall.

An M&S spokesman said: “We completely condemn the sale of unsafe food using the M&S brand and we are fully supporting the FSA in their investigation. ​

“This was surplus stock produced by a supplier that was never on sale in our stores and we want to reassure our customers that this notice did not affect any M&S products they’ve purchased from us.”​

The FSA advised consumers who may have bought the recalled products to not eat them.

Surplus stock​

A spokesman from Asda said the company had been made aware of a breach of the strict policies it had in place to manage surplus stock with its suppliers.

“We would like to reassure our customers that the products involved have not been produced for Asda or sold in Asda for the past two years,” ​said the spokesman.

“This incident was the result of an independent third party and we are doing all we can to support the FSA and local authorities with their investigation.”​

Meanwhile, discount retailer Lidl was forced to recall two batches of gravy granules, after harmful levels of a chemical found in paint stripper were discovered in them.