Aldi and Lidl have decided to recall meat-free mince products, over fears that they may contain small pieces of blue plastic.

Both of these recall notices have been published by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

Aldi Stores Ltd was the first retailer to publish a notice; it has taken steps to recall batches of ‘Mae’s Kitchen Frozen Meat-Free Mince’ due to the possible presence of small pieces of blue plastic.

The products being recalled can be identified by their batch code, with: 095; 109; 122; 150; and 152 all being of interest.

Weighing 454g, the packets being recalled will also be stamped with best-before dates of April, May and June of next year.

Aldi has confirmed that the implicated batches were sold in its stores and that point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in stores.

Meanwhile, another retailer – Lidl Ireland – has also taken the decision to recall all batches of ‘What’s Cooking? Meat Free Mince’. Fears have arisen that the product may contain small pieces of blue plastic.

The retailer added that all batch codes and best-before dates will be included in this recall; the packets in question weigh 454g.

Similarly to Aldi, Lidl confirmed that the implicated batches were sold in its stores and that point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in stores nationwide.

In both cases, the products are believed to have originated in the UK, according to the FSAI.

This problem isn’t unique to the Republic of Ireland, as the Food Standards Agency in the UK has also published a recall notice from MTA Foods Ltd for several batches of its frozen, meat-free mince products.

Worries have emerged that these products could possibly contain pieces of blue plastic, posing a safety risk to consumers.

In the UK, it is believed the affected products were sold in stores belonging to Lidl, Waitrose and Ocado.

Customers who have purchased these products are advised not to eat them and to return them to the store where they bought them.