Sainsbury's recalls tuna products

worldtraveller

Sainsbury's has recalled several of its tuna products over fears they could make consumers ill.

The retailer informed the Food Standards Agency that certain items may contain high levels of histamine.

Customers are being asked to return pre-packed products with use-by dates of 4 and 5 November.

Recalled products include Sainsbury's and Taste the Difference fresh tuna steaks, fresh diced tuna and fresh tuna from the fish counter.
Customers will be given a full refund.

High levels of histamine can be caused by poor refrigeration of fish and can lead to itchiness, headaches, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhoea.

BBC News
Food Standards Agency

xlt_hunter

Why has this come out now - IIRC the date today is the 10th Nov 07 -

Any right minded person would be chucking these in the bin by now as per the "USE BY" date.

custardy

im guessing for those that may have fr4ozen the fish.
tbh any fish going off with high histamine levels would usually be easily detected by smell/condition

mleonard79

custardy wrote: »

im guessing for those that may have fr4ozen the fish.
tbh any fish going off with high histamine levels would usually be easily detected by smell/condition

Unfortunately I bought the Taste The Difference fresh tuna steaks last saturday dated the 4th, froze them and ate them on Tuesday night. Within half an hour I was very ill and assumed it was something I ate and have only today found out it was probably this. I didn't smell anything off the fish though and it tasted ok - should it still have smelt funny if it wasn't going off? Thanks.

Regards

Michelle

custardy

well it depends how this histamine was introduced to the fish.
if it was artificially introduced then who knows.
i would still fire off a letter ot sainsburys pointing out that the timescale is unacceptable here.
imagine if the fish had been given to someone infirm or suffering from ill health already!

mleonard79

custardy wrote: »

imagine if the fish had been given to someone infirm or suffering from ill health already!

Thanks Custardy,

Unfortuntately I think I can more than imagine :mad: I don't have the best of immune systems due to ill health but I also suffer from very bad hay fever, asthma and allergies of all kinds so I'm assuming taking in a load of histamine has been part of the cause of me being so ill this week. I didn't connect all the symptoms together until this news came out but it makes more sense now I know it was histamine. I phoned Sainsburys and they said that the symptoms should be mild and not last long but I think I've been suffering the after-effects all week to be honest.

Regards

Michelle

Weggy

mleonard79 wrote: »

Thanks Custardy,

Unfortuntately I think I can more than imagine :mad: I don't have the best of immune systems due to ill health but I also suffer from very bad hay fever, asthma and allergies of all kinds so I'm assuming taking in a load of histamine has been part of the cause of me being so ill this week. I didn't connect all the symptoms together until this news came out but it makes more sense now I know it was histamine. I phoned Sainsburys and they said that the symptoms should be mild and not last long but I think I've been suffering the after-effects all week to be honest.

Regards

Michelle

Hi Michelle

I received a letter from Sainsburys on Friday, advising that I'd bought this product from them (traced me through my Nectar card apparently). I'd also been ill the day of eating the tuna (which I ate 'fresh' the day after buying it). I also have asthma and a couple of allergies, so this really hit me for six, without knowing what had caused it. This included time off work, and two visits to my GP.

Now for the funny bit. I phoned Sainsburys and they immediately apologised and said they were putting £10 credit onto my Nectar card. Errrr no I said. They then came back with an offer of £30 credit. Errr no I said again. So at least they admitted liability, in voice this time in addition to the letter.

So, I went away and searched the internet for advice. I found a link to a law firm who were asking for any cases of this to come forward. I called them on Friday, and they've come back to me today to say they're happy to accept the case on a no win, no fee basis. They're very confident of winning the case as Sainsburys have clearly admitted liability. They did mention they were hoping for other people to come forward, so feel free to call them if you're interested. Here's the link I found. Give them a call and ask to speak to David Urpeth's department...

http://www.irwinmitchell.com/News/Sainsburys-Recalls-Tuna-Products.htm

Weggy

Oh, and here's the content of the letter, which I also think is shocking. There's no full date (just month and year), no mention of what to do if you were ill due to this tuna, no contact number to phone, no definition of these 'symptoms' them mention....

"Dear Mr Weggy

We understand from our records that you have recently bought one or more of the following items:
Sainsbury's Taste the difference fresh counter tuna
Sainsbury's fresh tuna steak (x2)
Sainsbury's Taste the difference fresh tuna steak (x1 or x2)
Sainsbury's fresh diced tuna

We have found that some packs with a use by date of 4th of 5th November may contain higher than normal levels of histamine, which could cause a mild illness. The safety of our customers is of paramount importance to us and we are therefore writing to inform all customers who have bought any of these items recently.

If you have kept any of these at home, please return them to your local store for a full refund. We know that many of our customers freeze items like these, so you may also want to check your freezer. If you have eaten them and not experienced any symptoms, then there is no cause for alarm.

Please accept my apologies for any distress or inconvenience we have caused you. I hope that my letter has assured you of our commitment to the safety of our customers.

Yours sincerely

Jacki Connor
Director of Customer Service

Freddie_Snowbits

After a couple of pinmts of Old Spot on a Friday Night, I often get a jippy tummy!

As for this, I think you should sue for millions