Allergy alert over foods contaminated with peanuts

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is advising people with a peanut allergy to avoid consuming foods that may contain mustard, because they could be contaminated with peanuts.

Mustard ingredients – including mustard powder or flour – can be found in dips, sauces, salads and pre-packed sandwiches, the FSA said.

It is trying to identify how many products may be affected – around 50 have already been recalled.

Parents of children with a peanut allergy should check the labels of food they are buying and ask restaurants and take-away outlets about foods that might contain mustard, the agency says.

Some of the products being recalled, or removed from sale, because they may contain peanuts include Dominos dips, SPAR sandwich fillers and salads, and Harvester BBQ sauce.

The Food Standards Agency has traced the contaminated mustard ingredients to a producer in India called GT Agro Industries. One company, called FGS Ingredients, has been identified as supplying their mustard ingredients for use in UK food.

Because of how serious allergic reactions to peanuts can be, the FSA says it is taking a precautionary approach, so that people with allergies can keep themselves safe.

Rebecca Sudworth, director of food policy at the FSA, said: “Those with a peanut allergy should avoid consuming products containing mustard as an ingredient until we identify the individual products affected.

“As soon as we have more information, we will update consumers,” she added.

According to the agency, 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.

Peanuts are a common cause of food allergy. A peanut allergy is thought to affect one in 50 children, and the ingredient is now banned from many schools.

An allergic reaction occurs when the body reacts to the protein found in peanuts.

Symptoms can range from the mild to the very serious, for some.

Common symptoms of a food allergy include:

• feeling dizzy
• itchy skin or raised rash
• swelling of the lips, face and eyes
• coughing, breathlessness or noisy breathing
• feeling sick or being sick
• tummy pain
• diarrhoea