The Apprentice winner ‘mortified’ after cake recall

“No excuses, this was 100% a mistake. It should never have happened and I am truly sorry that it did. I'm totally mortified,” ​Spencer told BBC News.​

The products contained allergens that had either not been listed or not correctly declared, making them a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to soya, egg or peanuts.

There was also a health risk for consumers with an allergy or intolerance to wheat, barley and oats (gluten) and/or a sensitivity to sulphites.

Spencer was alerted to the error via an email from a local Trading Standards officer, who had bought a box of her products online, before reporting the issue to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Reporting the issue to the FSA​

A health warning was issued and seven of the eight products sold by Ridiculously Rich throughout the UK were recalled (see the full list in the box below).

She said the inaccurate labelling only applied to products that had been sold online, but the FSA website did not make a distinction.

Spencer won the 12^th​ series of the BBC reality show The Apprentice, ​securing a £250,000 investment from the show’s star and business mogul Lord Alan Sugar in return for a 50% partnership.

She runs the business with her boyfriend and one other member of staff, outsourcing production to a site in Carmarthenshire, south-west Wales.

‘He was not happy’​

Describing Lord Sugar’s reaction to the bad news, Spencer said: “He was not happy, obviously, but if you're honest with him, tell him what's gone wrong and what you're doing to ensure it doesn't happen again, he will support you.​

“Then he gave me a list of things I needed to do and at the end of the conversation, he said, ‘Ok Alana, do not let it happen again. Now move on’.”​

In January, Spencer changed the name of the company from Narna’s Cakes,​ as it experienced its busiest month for orders in its seven-year history. The company was forced to stop taking orders from December 23 last year to January 4 to work through its order backlog.

Meanwhile, last week, French dairy processor Lactalis ordered a global recall of its baby formula milk over fears of salmonella contamination.​