Food « Thurles Information

FSAI Recall Batch Of Dairy Farm Vanilla Ice Cream.

FSAI recall a batch of Dairy Farm Vanilla Ice Cream due to chemical smell and taste from the product.

Alert Summary dated Friday, April 4th 2025.

Category 1: For Action
Alert Notification: 2025.17
Product Identification: Dairy Farm Vanilla Ice Cream tub; pack size: 1 litre; approval number: IE 1065 EC
Batch Code: L24356B; best before date: June 2026
Country Of Origin: Ireland

Message: The above batch of Dairy Farm Vanilla Ice Cream is being recalled due to some customers experiencing a chemical smell and/or taste from the product.
Point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in Lidl stores.

Action Required:
Consumers: Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated batch.

Note: At the best of times, according to the independent YUKA App. the above product, when scanned by Thurles.Info, contains Mono-and diglycerides of fatty acids, latter a high risk texturizing agent which provides consistency, maintains or modifies the texture of this product.
This additive we are informed, could in cases of high consumption, increase the risk of developing cancers and cardiovascular diseases. It is also suspected of disrupting gut flora , which could lead to an increased risk of autoimmune and allergic diseases, as well as inflammatory diseases.

This product also contains Locust bean gum; Guar gum and E415. These additives/texturizing agents used as emulsifiers are believed to also alter gut microbiota. A recent Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) study, [latter the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research], found that such emulsifiers may be associated with the development of breast cancer. However, it is also accepted that further studies are required with regards to this latter claim.

Now comes the questions:
(1) With this research knowledge readily available; why are Irish manufacturers allowed to use these additives/texturizing agents in such products?
(2) Why are Shops/Supermarkets continuing to sell such products?
(3) Could the removal of such additives/texturizing agents from our food, reduce hospital overcrowding and patient waiting time for beds?

We have forwarded these three questions to the Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine, Mr Martin Heydon TD. (martin.heydon@oir.ie) and to the Minister for Health, Ms Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD (jennifer.carrollmacneill@oireachtas.ie); seeking early replies.

Recall Of Tony’s Chocolonely Dark Almond Sea Salt.

Recall Of Tony’s Chocolonely Dark Almond Sea Salt Due To Presence Of Small Stones.

Alert Summary dated Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025.

Category 1: For Action
Alert Notification: 2025.16
Product Identification: Tony’s Chocolonely Dark Almond Sea Salt; pack size: 180g
Batch Code: 162633 and 162614; best before date: 28/02/2026
Country Of Origin: Belgium.

Message: The above batches of Tony’s Chocolonely Dark Almond Sea Salt are being recalled due to the possible presence of small stones. Point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in stores.

Action Required: Wholesalers, distributors, caterers and retailers.

Wholesalers/Distributors: Same are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated batches and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retail customers.

Caterers/Retailers: Same are requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.

Consumers: Same are advised not to eat the implicated batches.

FSAI Warn Of Soya & Milk In Ruffles Sabor a Jamon crisps.

Alert Summary dated Friday, March 28th 2025.

Allergy Alert Notification: 2025.A11.
Allergens: Soybeans, Milk.
Product Identification: Ruffles Sabor a Jamón; pack size: 150g.
Batch Code: All batches with no English labelling.
Country Of Origin: USA.

Message: The ingredients in Ruffles Sabor a Jamón crisps are not labelled in English. The implicated crisps contain soya and milk. This may make the crisps unsafe for consumers who are allergic to or intolerant of soya and/or milk and therefore, these consumers should not eat the implicated crisps.

FSAI Warn Of Presence Of Peanut In Batches Of Sofra Garlic Powder.

Alert Summary dated Monday, 24th March 2025.

Allergy Alert Notification: 2025.A06 (Update 1).
Allergen: Peanuts.
Product Identification: Sofra Garlic Powder; pack size: 100g.
Batch Code: All batch codes and all best before dates.
Country Of Origin: Lebanon.

Message: Further to FSAI food allergen alert 2025.A06, all batches and best before dates of Sofra Garlic Powder may contain peanut, which is not mentioned on the label. This may make the batches unsafe for consumers who are allergic to or intolerant of peanut and therefore, these consumers should not eat the implicated batches.

Bayer To Pay Billions In Damages Following Weed Killer Cancer Case.

A jury in Georgia, South Carolina, USA, has ordered the Monsanto parent company Bayer to pay nearly $2.1 billion in damages to a man who maintains the company’s Roundup weed killer caused his cancer, according to his attorneys.

This verdict, delivered on Friday last, marks the latest in a long-running series of court battles that Monsanto has faced over its Roundup herbicide. The agrochemical giant says it will appeal the verdict, in an efforts to overturn the court’s decision.

In a statement, law firms Arnold & Itkin LLP and Kline & Specter PC said that the penalties awarded to the plaintiff will include $65 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages. This marks one of the largest legal settlements reached in a Roundup weed killer related case to date.

The plaintiff named as Mr John Barnes filed his lawsuit against Monsanto in 2021, seeking damages which related to his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The lead trial lawyer, Arnold & Itkin attorney Kyle Findley, stated that the verdict will help to place his client in a better disposition in order to obtain necessary treatment needed going forward.

The verdict on the case is seen as an important moment of truth, following the refusal by Monsanto to accept responsibility for poisoning people with their product, same regarded as highly toxic.

Glyphosate is a herbicide used to kill certain plants and grasses and is the declared active ingredient in most versions of Roundup. The biggest users of glyphosate are growers of crops that have been genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide. This allows the plant to survive while killing nearby weeds. The crops with the highest use of glyphosate are modified corn, cotton, and soybeans.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. maintain that glyphosate is not likely to cause cancer in humans. But there is concern about the other ingredients in Roundup, as they may be more toxic than glyphosate. These other chemicals are not the active ingredients in Roundup, so they are rarely the focus of regulatory health risk assessments.
One study found that Roundup was among the most toxic of the herbicides and insecticides tested.