Chicken products recalled over salmonella fears

Several supermarkets and coffee shops have removed dozens of chicken products from their shelves after a salmonella outbreak in a processing factory.

Chicken sandwiches, wraps and salads are among the products with certain use-by dates in May that customers are being advised not to eat, and to return to stores for a refund.

Tesco, Sainsbury's, Aldi, Pret A Manger, M&S and Waitrose are among those affected by the outbreak.

About 100 products are being recalled.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said other retailers including Amazon, Caffe Nero, Costa, Jamie Oliver deli by Shell, One Stop and Starbucks are also recalling products.

The affected chicken wraps, ready meals and sandwiches have use-by dates of between 11 and 20 May.

The salmonella outbreak was detected during a routine inspection at the Cranswick Country Foods processing plant in Hull, where chicken products are sold as ingredients for sandwiches and meals through UK retailers and food-to-go outlets.

Cranswick said it was working with the Food Standards Agency and investigating the "possible cause of the contamination".

"The safety and quality of every product produced by Cranswick is our number one priority and all necessary protocols will be followed and completed before we restart production," the company said.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach cramps.

'Precautionary measure'

On their websites, the supermarkets describe the decision to recall the products as a "precautionary measure".

Sainsbury's has the most affected cooked chicken products with 33, while Tesco is recalling 14 items, M&S 12 and Waitrose 10.

Aldi has eight different products listed as being recalled.

A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said the supermarket was recalling the "majority of Sainsbury's and Taste the Difference chicken sandwiches, chicken wraps, chicken sandwich platters and some of our cooked chicken".

"This is a precautionary measure as our supplier has alerted us that salmonella has been detected in some batches of cooked chicken," she added.

"We are asking customers not to consume the product and to return it to their nearest Sainsbury's store, where they will receive a full refund. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause."

Pret A Manger said it had removed the majority of chicken items on its menu.

The FSA advised customers that if they had bought affected products to not eat them and return them to the store from where they were bought.