According to Vincent Arbuckle, New Zealand Food Safety's deputy director-general, last month, Prolife Foods recalled particular batches of peanut-containing products due to concerns that they could contain levels of aflatoxins above the allowable level in New Zealand.
"Unfortunately, Prolife released some of these recalled products for sale in error," Arbuckle said.
"Aflatoxins naturally occur in many food products and are produced by a group of moulds that grow on foods produced in hot and tropical climates.”
The New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) is investigating how this could have happened and will review Prolife's recall system to determine what went wrong and prevent it from recurring.
If you purchased Value Pack Roasted Salted Peanuts after the 11th of April, it is recommended that you check if they are part of a batch that was recalled on the 5th of April.
Please check your pantry for any of these peanuts, do not consume them, and return them to the place of purchase for a refund.
"Aflatoxin levels in the New Zealand diet are usually deficient and don't represent a health risk. However, consuming food products with increased levels of aflatoxin over an extended period can be harmful. But despite the low health risk in this case, any recalled product release is of concern."
The products that have been affected by this recall are:
Value Pack (VP) Roasted Salted Peanuts (400g) with best-before dates of 08 OCT 2024 and 15 OCT 2024
The affected products were sold nationwide at selected New World, FreshChoice, Pak'nSave and Four Square stores.
