Urgent ‘do not eat’ warning over popular cooking sauce sold in Tesco, Asda and Waitrose

An urgent ‘do not eat’ warning has been issued for a popular cooking sauce sold in Tesco, Asda and Waitrose.

Sharwood’s Balti Cooking Sauce is being recalled because it contains milk which is not declared on its label. 

Watchdogs at the Food Standards Agency, which issued the alert, said: ‘This means the product is a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to milk.’

The sauce, sold for £2.99, is described as being a rich tomato-based curry infused with spices and herbs.

It is also stocked at the likes of Sainsbury’s, Ocado and Morrison’s. 

The recall only applies to the sauce with a best-before date of January 31, 2025 and weighing 420g. 

‘If you have bought the above product and have an allergy or intolerance to milk or milk constituents, do not eat it,’ the FSA said.

Customers who’ve bought the problem can get a full refund. 

The FSA issues food recalls, when customers are asked to return a product, when problems are spotted with food that means it should not be sold. 

People who cannot consume milk are either allergic to the proteins in cow’s milk or they cannot digest the sugar in the product, known as lactose intolerance.

Milk allergy symptoms can range from a rash, itching and swelling on the skin to vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea that starts within minutes of eating or drinking items that contain dairy.

However, those how suffer from delayed cow’s milk allergy may not have any symptoms until two days after exposure.

In severe cases, it can cause anaphylaxis — a severe, life-threatening reaction when swelling in the throat can block the airways.

A milk allergy can be diagnosed by a person’s immediate reaction to milk, as well as skin, blood and breath tests.

Around three in 100 babies have a cow’s milk allergy but most grow out of it during their childhood.

Older children and adults who are allergic to cow’s milk tend to have a more serious allergy.