Waitrose issues do not eat warning and urgent product recall after listeria discovery

Waitrose has issued a product recall for packs of black olives following the discovery of listeria contamination.

The supermarket detected listeria monocytogenes within 120g packets of Waitrose Essential Pitted Black Olives.

Affected items bear use by dates of September 13 2026, September 18 2026 and September 27 2026.

Customers who bought these packs are urged not to eat them and return them to a Waitrose store where they will be fully refunded.

According to the Food Standards Agency, symptoms caused by listeria can resemble flu, including a high temperature, muscle aches or pain, chills, feeling or being sick and diarrhoea.

In rare cases the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications, such as meningitis.

Earlier this week, Waitrose & Partners issued another recall over a product which has been incorrectly labelled.

The supermarket's Rhubarb Crumble is being urgently recalled because it contains oats (gluten) which is not mentioned on the label.

Because the pudding contains gluten, it is a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to oats or gluten, or for those with coeliac disease.

The 500g product has a use-by date of 19 August 2026 but has home freezing instructions to consume within one month of freezing. No other products or batches are affected by the recall.

The Food Standards Agency has urged customers to not eat the product if they have an allergy or intolerance to oats or gluten and instead return it to the store for a full refund.

Waitrose has apologised that it was “necessary” to recall the item and for the inconvenience caused.

Oat allergy symptoms include itchy or irritated skin, runny nose, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

Meanwhile, coeliac disease can cause stomach pain, indigestion, vomiting, diarrhoea and fatigue, according to the NHS.

Tesco, meanwhile, also issued recalls over products that were labelled incorrectly.

Tesco Finest Caesar & Smoked Bacon Coleslaw has been urgently recalled because some packs may contain Tesco Finest Four Cheese Potato Salad.

The potato salad is a potential health hazard because it contains mustard, which is not declared on the label – a danger to anyone with an allergy to mustard.

Only the coleslaw sold in 270g packets with a use-by date of September 4 is affected by the recall, the Food Standards Agency said.

Customers have been told “do not eat” the product if they have a mustard allergy and instead to return the product to a Tesco store where a full refund will be given without a receipt.