HEALTH authorities in Spain have warned of an 'undeclared presence of nuts' in strawberry ice-cream cones from the UK distributed in shops in the Comunidad Valenciana.
According to the Spanish Consumer, Food Safety and Nutrition Agency (AECOSAN), part of the ministry of health, the product – branded Ice King – does not carry a warning label that it 'may contain nuts', but traces have since been picked up.
AECOSAN has urged anyone with a peanut allergy to avoid consuming it, and if they have it in their house, to return it to the point of sale.
Manufactured in Britain and sold in the UK, Ireland and the eastern region of Spain, among other locations, the Ice King strawberry ice-cream batch in question carries a sell-by date of November 2020.
British consumer authorities raised the alarm, which was immediately passed onto their counterparts across the European Union thanks to its rapid-alert system, RASFF, covering human and animal foodstuffs.
Once AECOSAN received the alert, it triggered Spain's inter-regional version, the National Food Alert Network (SCIRI), sending an immediate warning to all health and consumer authorities in every one of the country's 17 autonomously-governed regions.
The ice-cream is safe to eat for anyone who does not have a peanut or general nut allergy, but those who do should avoid doing so.
It is likely to be sold in British-style or British-run supermarkets and corner stores in expatriate belts, and may also be on the shelves in mainstream 'Spanish' supermarkets.
