Sainsbury’s is recalling two of its own-label wholemeal loaves because of the presence of small pieces of metal.

The chain, which won the Instore Bakery Retailer of the Year category at the 2015 Baking Industry Awards (BIA), issued the recall on 18 January.

The loaves affected are the by Sainsbury’s Wholemeal Bread, Medium Sliced, 800g and by Sainsbury’s Wholemeal Bread, Thick Sliced, 800g with best-before dates of 19 January. The company said no other products or date codes had been affected and promised a full refund for returned goods.

In a statement, Sainsbury’s said: “As a precautionary measure, we are asking customers who have purchased this product with the best-before date to return it to their nearest Sainsbury’s store, where they will receive a full refund.”

According to The Grocer, the loaves were supplied by Allied Bakeries, the company which owns the Kingsmill and Allinson brands.

Allied Bakeries issued a statment saying: "We’re aware that a recall has been instigated for a small volume of Sainsbury’s 800g wholemeal bread. While the risk to consumer health has been assessed as low, some product has been recalled as a precautionary measure. The Food Standards Agency has been fully informed, and consumers who have this product should return it to store.

"The incident is isolated to a specific product batch, baked on a line at our Walthamstow bakery on14 January. Our priority is always the safety of our consumers and quality of our products, and we have launched a full investigation."

unsafe to eat

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has also issued an alert saying: “The presence of metal pieces makes these products unsafe to eat and presents a risk to health.”

It added: “If you have bought any of the above products, do not eat them. Instead, return it to the store where it was bought for a full refund.”

British Baker contacted Sainsbury’s for further comment and a spokesperson said: "We launched a full investigation as a matter of urgency and, as a precaution, took the decision to remove the product from our shelves.  We apologise to any customers who may have been affected by our decision to recall the product."

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