Christmas Food Recall After Bugs Found in It Sparks Urgent Warning

Just weeks before Christmas, the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom announced a recall of a popular stuffing mix because of the potential presence of moths.

On Thursday, Tesco recalled the Tesco Finest Apple & Cranberry Stuffing Mix that had a best-before date of September 2024. Tesco is the biggest supermarket in the United Kingdom and customers who already purchased the product were advised to throw it out or return it to the store for a full refund.

The recall was triggered by the presence of moths, which make it unsafe to eat. It's believed that the moths may have contaminated the stuffing mix through one of its raw ingredients, according to the BBC.

The stuffing mix features toasted ciabatta-style breadcrumbs, dried sweetened cranberries and dried apples. Cranberries, which are grown on the East Coast of the U.S., are a staple of British Christmases.

While one batch was pulled from shelves and shouldn't be eaten, uncontaminated batches of the product are still available at the store and online.

It's not the first inconvenient recall this holiday season. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a recall of a holiday nog drink from Prairie Farms Dairy. The Illinois company recalled half-gallon bottles that were sold at United Dairy Farms between December 4 and December 6.

The recall warned that the product may have been mislabeled and failed to tell people about the presence of egg in the product, making it potentially dangerous for people with egg allergies. A study from 2020 found less than 1 percent of people are allergic to eggs, but that percentage increases for people under 5.

Darin Copeland, a spokesperson for the company, previously told Newsweek that most of the impacted product was sold in Ohio.

Hanukkah also has not been spared from recalls. On December 1, days before Hanukkah started, Manischewitz issued a recall of dark chocolate coins. The product may contain milk, which wasn't declared on the packaging. Similarly, to the unknown presence of eggs in the holiday drink, the undeclared presence of milk could be fatal for people with a milk allergy.

The coins were distributed nationwide, but the largest amount of the product was sent to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, between the end of September and the end of November. The product was pulled from shelves and consumers were advised to either return it for a full refund or throw it out.