Major supermarket issues urgent recall and ‘do not eat’ alert over £1.75 popular spread that could contain ‘blue cloth’

Waitrose is recalling packs of its own brand butter over fears it may contain pieces of blue cloth. 

The supermarket has told customers not to eat Essential Waitrose & Partners Salted Dairy Butter. 

Batches of the butter sold in 500g blocks with the best before date of June 19, 2024 are affected by the recall. 

No other batches of the butter are impacted.  

Customers are told to ‘not consume’ the butter, which is sold for £1.75, and instead ‘package up’ the item and return it to your local Waitrose for a refund (stock image)

Officials at the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which published the alert, warned the products are ‘unsafe to eat’.

‘The possible presence of blue cloth makes the product unsafe to eat,’ the FSA adds. 

Waitrose has also issued a point-of sale notice to its customers explaining why the products are being recalled and what to do if they have bought the products. 

Customers are told to ‘not consume’ the butter, which is sold for £1.75, and instead ‘package up’ the item and return it to your local Waitrose for a refund.  

The supermarket said: ‘We apologise that it has been necessary to recall this product and for the inconvenience caused.’

The FSA issues food recalls – which ask customers to return a product – when problems are spotted that means a product should not be sold. 

Pieces of blue cloth in the food could cause injury or be a choking hazard for both children and adults.

Choking happens when the airway suddenly gets blocked, either partially or fully, but enough so that breathing is prevented.

If an adult’s airways are blocked, they may be able to clear the blockage themselves.

However, if coughing doesn’t solve the issue, back blows and abdominal thrusts can help. If these do not work, you should call 999 immediately.

The NHS warns that you should not give abdominal thrusts to babies under one or to pregnant women.