LIDL has urgently pulled two potato dishes off shelves over fears they may contain “pieces of copper”.
Customers were warned not to consume the products, as the copper shards made them “unsafe to eat”.
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Lidl is recalling two Meadow Fresh Potato Salads sold in stores across England, Scotland and Wales, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said in an alert to consumers.
This includes the Potato Salad with Creme Fraiche and the Potato Salad with Yoghurt.
Affected batches of the creme fraiche potato salad had ‘use by’ dates of December 12, 16 and 23.
As for the yoghurt one, products included in the recall had ‘use by’ dates of December 7, 13, 14, 16 and 21.
The FSA said: “These products may contain pieces of copper which makes them unsafe to eat.”
No other Meadow Fresh products sold as Lidl are affected, the chain’s customer notice added.
Customers who have bought the above products were advised to not to east them.
Instead, they were told to return them to the store they bought them at for a full refund.
Swallowing sharp objects like metal and plastic can injure the teeth, mouth and food pipe and be a choking risk.
If fragments make it further into the body, this can puncture the intestines and cause internal bleeding in severe cases.
Anyone who thinks they or a family member have swallowed something made of metal should immediately seek medical help.
The recall comes after Aldi urgently recalled a party food favourite over fears it could pose a health risk to people with sesame allergies.
It’s not the first time food has been pulled from shelves due to traces of foreign objects.
In October, Tesco recalled packs of its mince pies over fears some could contain glue.
Meanwhile, Marks & Spencer pulled pots of butternut squash soup after it was flagged that some contained pieces of metal.
What to do if someone is choking
Mild choking
If the airway is only partly blocked, the person will usually be able to speak, cry, cough or breathe, and may be able to clear the blockage themselves.
In adults:
- Encourage them to keep coughing
- Ask them to try to spit out the object
- Don’t put your fingers in their mouth
- If coughing doesn’t work, start back blows
In children:
- If you can see the object, try to remove it (but don’t poke blindly)
- Encouraging coughing
- Shout for help if coughing isn’t effective or the child is silent
- Use back blows if the child is still conscious but not coughing
Severe choking
In adults:
Where choking is severe, the person won’t be able to speak, cry, cough or breathe.
Without help, they’ll eventually become unconscious, so you should carry out back blows.
In children:
Back blows can be carried out on children under one year.
If this doesn’t work, chest thrusts can be started on kids up to 12 months old, and abdominal thrusts on those over one year.
Call 999 if the blockage doesn’t come out after trying back blows and either chest or abdominal thrusts.
Keep trying this cycle until help arrives.
Even if the object has come out, get medical help. Part of the object might have been left behind, or the patient might have been hurt by the procedure.
Source: NHS
