Baby food manufacturer Heinz is investigating what is thought to be an isolated incident of mould discovered in a jar of baby food that was well within the sell-by date.

Regional newspaper the North West Evening Mail was contacted by 27-year-old Laura Howitt, after she found the mould in a jar of ‘Banana Delight’ that had an expiry date of July 2010. Ms Howitt was about to feed the product to her six-month-old baby and told reporters that she had noticed ‘nothing unusual’ about the jar when she had bought it from a shop in Barrow – it was only when she opened it that the problem became apparent:

‘I opened a jar of the pudding, and inside it was black/grey and it had a thick layer of powder on the top. It all came out,’ she said.

She has now returned the jar to Heinz, which has launched an investigation.

A director of Heinz UK and Ireland, Nigel Dickie, said:

‘Great care and attention is given to every aspect of preparing and making our baby foods – from sorting and screening of ingredients to the stringent precautions and exacting standards adhered to during manufacture.

‘We are carrying out an immediate investigation as soon as we receive the product. The quality and purity of our baby foods remains our utmost priority.

‘This remains an isolated report and no similar complaint has been received involving this particular product,’ Mr Dickie added.

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