Urgent warning over UK mustard as health chiefs find products could cause fatal allergic reaction

Health chiefs have issued an urgent warning to the millions of Brits with peanut allergies, after a number of supermarket products were found to contain undisclosed traces of the nut.

The harmful substance was detected inside mustard powder used to flavour the sauces, salads and pre-packed sandwiches— which include SPAR pasta salads and Dominos’ dips. 

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has traced the contaminated mustard ingredients to a producer based in India and one company that supplied the items to the UK.

The body say there is so far no evidence that other suppliers have been affected.

While health chiefs attempt to identify the full scale of individual products affected, they advise anyone with a peanut allergy to avoid any products containing mustard or mustard powder.

In a statement, the FSA said: ‘If mustard is present in a food, it should be labelled in bold on the packet because it is an allergen itself. 

‘If there is a risk that mustard could be unintentionally present in food there will be a ‘may contain’ label for mustard. 

‘If you are eating out, please ask the cafe or restaurant staff if any of their products contain mustard – by law, food businesses must provide this information to customers.’

The UK company affected, FGS Ingredients Ltd, has advised stores they supply to remove products containing the contaminated mustard ingredients.

One of the products known to be made with the contaminated mustard powder is Dominos’ Garlic and Herb Dip.

A full list of the contaminated products so far affected are listed on the FSA website, and include Harvester BBQ Sauce, Dominos dips — both honey and mustard and garlic and herb flavours — and a range of own-products from the supermarket SPAR.

SPAR coleslaw, pasta salads, sandwich fillers and several wraps and readymade sandwiches are also affected. 

Sandwiches from SPAR including chicken mayonnaise, chicken club and prawn mayonnaise are also affected.

Peanut allergy is thought to affect about one in 50 children and around 200 adults. 

While some with allergies only experience mild symptoms when exposed to peanuts, such as swollen lips and itchy skin, for others exposure can be fatal.

Roughly 10 Brits die every year from anaphylaxis — a life-threatening allergic reaction in which a sufferer becomes unable to breathe. 

Without access to a shot of adrenaline, often in the form of an EpiPen, patients suffer a cardiac arrest which is almost always fatal.

There are 14 food allergens recognised as the most common causes of allergic reactions in the UK. 

These include celery, gluten, crustaceans like prawns and crab, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs like oysters and mussels, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide, sulphites and tree nuts — such as almonds and brazil nuts.