Booths, a UK based grocery chain, has removed 300 packets of its Whole Hearted Roasted Monkey Nuts from shelves after failing to declare they may contain peanuts.
The Food Standards Agency issued an allergy alert in relation to the nuts, saying that the presence of peanuts had not been declared on the packets. They said “although the packaging was transparent allowing customers to see what was inside, the supermarket had failed to identify peanuts as an allergen on the labels” and that “legislation requires food labels to carry information about any allergens it may contain”. An easy win for the FSA?
In a statement Booths said they have “identified the labelling error and issued a warning to customers”.
You may think it is already obvious that monkey nuts may contain peanuts. But obvious or not, this issue was enough to warrant the product’s removal, and serves as a reminder of the need to consider both hidden and obvious issues when packaging your products.