“Food Standards Australia New Zealand has issued recalls relating to a small selection of spinach products, and is working through the supply chain with relevant jurisdictions to ensure any other affected products are identified,” AUSVEG chief executive officer Michael Coote said.
“The health and safety of our consumers is the top priority for our industry, so we urge anyone with those recalled products to dispose of them, and seek medical attention if you are concerned about your health.
“Given the affected products have originated from a single farm, and all affected products are being removed from shelves, Australian consumers can be confident in other spinach and leafy salad products that are currently available for sale, which are unaffected by the recall.”
He said the past 12 months had been the most difficult in recent times for the industry.
“While all growers have faced significant increases to costs of production, floods and consistent rain and critical labour shortages this year, leafy salad and spinach growers have had it particularly tough during this period,” Mr Coote said.
“We have spoken to growers who have experienced reduced orders and drops in sales who are not even in the same state as the source of the recalled spinach, which is an avoidable situation that hurts the entire industry.
“Vegetable growers were hopeful that a busy and productive Christmas and festive season would be a buoyant finish to what has been the hardest year for vegetable producers in recent memory.
“We urge consumers to support their local growers and continue to buy plenty of fresh salad products in the lead-up to the festive season and in the summer period, which will be in high supply and good value across Australia.”
As of December 18 the recalled products were:
- Riviera Farms branded baby spinach, for sale at Costco Wholesale with use by dates from December 16 up to and including December 28.
- Fresh Salad Co Fresh and Fast Stir Fry, at ALDI stores in Victoria with use by date of December 24.
- Woolworths Chicken Cobb Salad 270g (use by date of December 20) and Woolworths Chickpea Falafel Salad, 290g (use by date of December 20 and December 22) for sale at Woolworths and Woolworths metro stores.
- Eleven Coles Own Brand products containing spinach, sold in Coles Supermarkets, Coles Local, Coles Express and through Coles Online with use by dates between December 17 and December 23.
