“Prolife Foods recalled specific batches of products containing peanuts last month over concerns that they could contain levels of aflatoxins above the allowable level in New Zealand,” NZFS deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said.
“Disappointingly, some of these recalled products have been released for sale in error by Prolife.”
Arbuckle said NZFS is now “investigating how this could have happened” and will work to “prevent it happening again.”
He said Kiwis should check their pantry for any of the peanuts, and not consume them.
“Return them to the place of purchase for a refund.”
The products affected by the recall are:
Value Pack (VP) Roasted Salted Peanuts (400g) with best-before dates of 08 OCT 2024 and 15 OCT 2024
The affected batch has been sold at New World, FreshChoice, Pak’nSave and Four Square stores nationwide.
“Aflatoxins are naturally occurring in many food products and are produced by a group of moulds that grow on foods produced in hot and tropical climates,” Arbuckle explained.
“Levels of aflatoxin in the New Zealand diet are usually very low and don’t represent a health risk, however, consumption of food products with increased levels of aflatoxin over an extended period of time can be harmful.”
Arbuckle said “despite the health risk being low”, the release of recalled products is concerning.