Yeo Valley recalls 23 varieties of yoghurts over possible presence of rubber pieces

UK-based Yeo Valley has issued a recall of 23 varieties of yoghurt over concerns they may contain rubber.

The yoghurts have been supplied to supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, The Co-op, Waitrose and Asda.

Selling the products under their own labels, the supermarkets have urged customers not consume the products and return them for a full refund.

Among the products recalled include Sainsbury's Basics fruit selection yoghurts, Co-op strawberry and raspberry low-fat yoghurts and Asda fat-free red cherry yoghurt, reported itv.com.

A piece of rubber was found in a fruit conserve supplied by Yeo Valley's supplier, following which it alerted the yoghurt maker.

Conserves have been used an ingredient in fruit yogurts.

Although the risk has been considered low, Yeo Valley issued a recall as a precautionary measure.

Yeo Valley spokesperson was quoted by independent.co.uk as saying: “Food safety and quality are paramount to Yeo Valley. We are working with the Food Standards Agency and the supplier in question to ensure it does not happen again. We would like to apologise unreservedly to all customers.”

The products sold under the Yeo Valley label are considered safe for consumption, reported itv.com. 

Meanwhile, Epicor Software regional vice-president UK and Ireland Andy Archer said: "Large recalls like today serve as a reminder for manufacturers to ensure they have full traceability in place across their production line, in order to minimise the chances of a recall occurring.

"Recovering from a recall is as much about rehearsing and preparing for a potential situation as it is about implementing emergency processes if and when it does happen. Having the right ERP (enterprise resource planning) system in place to monitor every step in food production, ensuring that transparent and detailed information on what has gone into every product is available can certainly help to reduce the risk and cost associated with mass recalls and unused inventory."