Waitrose and Sainsbury's have both issued major recall notices after popular curry product may contain pieces of glass.

The product affected by the recall notice is Patak’s Aubergine Pickle, which is made by AB World Foods. Due to the possible nature of glass in the food product is now unsafe to eat, and the recall notice has been issued "as a precaution" - even though the possibility of glass contamination is "very low".

The official recall notice came from the Food Standards Agency which noted that the products affected had only been sold at Waitrose and Sainsbury's stores. According to the agency, the contaminated jars have the batch code of 3172, weigh 312g, and have the best-before date of June 2026. Both Waitrose and Sainsbury's urge customers who have bought the product not to eat it and to return it to their local supermarket store for a full refund. You will not need a receipt to get your refund.

The Patak's brand consists of a wide range of Indian food products such as cooking sauces, spice pastes, naans, poppadoms, chutney and pickles. AB World Foods - who also owns brands such as Blue Dragon, Levi Roots, Al'Fez and TABASCO - confirmed that no other Patak's product is affected by the recall notice. Ab World Foods apologised for the inconvenience caused by the notice and told customers to contact their customer care team on 0800 0195 617 or consumer.services@abworldfoods.com for more information.

What are recall notices?

Products can be recalled for a range of different reasons including safety - if a product displays risks for the customer - or quality - when the product isn't working as it should be. The Food Standards Agency is in charge of issuing alerts when there is a problem with food and the product can either be "withdrawn" or "recalled".

When it is withdrawn it is taken off the shelves and when something is "recalled" customers are simply asked to return the item. Food products need to be recalled if they are found to have been contaminated with pathogens that could cause food poisoning, or if plastic or metal has been found in the product due to manufacturing faults. Food items also need to be recalled if any allergen information is missing or incorrect.