UK Tesco recalls ‘disgusting smelling’ squash (cordial) drink

I didn’t know what cordial was until I came to Australia, and had to look up the UK version of squash. Seems to be the same: a concentrated fruit extract added with water or other things – I prefer the lime.

tsco.squashTesco has recalled one of its own-brand squash drinks after customers complained of a ”disgusting smell” and parents raised the possibility that it could have caused their children’s stomach upsets.

The supermarket said it had withdrawn the Tesco No Added Sugar Double Concentrate Apple and Blackcurrant 750ml and 1.5l products and was investigating complaints.

They later said a flavour additive had been added in error to the squash, but said it posed no food safety risk

A post on the PlayPennies website alerting users to the recall prompted a flurry of replies from those who said they had opened the squash and noticed an unusual smell while others reported their children had vomited after drinking it.

One poster wrote: ”I bought 2 bottles of this squash over a week to a fortnight ago. We opened one and it smelt absolutely disgusting … the only way to describe the smell was that it had been mixed with used toilet water …”

Clairedavies85 said: ”Had this other day. The smell was horrendous but drank it anyway as I thought they just changed it. Since then both my daughter and partner have had bad bellies.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “A flavour additive, which is not part of the ingredients for this product, has been added in error. The additive is called Dimethyl Disulphide and is a common ingredient in food products.

“It is an approved additive and poses no food safety risk. However, it does have a strong odour, similar to garlic, which customers are likely to find unpleasant.

“We have withdrawn the product from sale. Only products bought since the New Year may be affected, they will have a best-before date of October 2015.

“Any customers can return this product, open or unopened, to any Tesco store.”

The Food Standards Agency has not issued an alert, explaining that it would only do so if it was aware of a ”food safety implication.”

Gratuitous food porn shot of the day – oven baked salmon, squash soup, garlic bread, strawberries and melon

Farmed salmon fillets with oil, lime, garlic, rosemary and white wine, baked in a 400F oven. Roasted butternut squash soup with apple, cinnamon, nutmeg potato and carrot, pureed, and using a homemade chicken stock (the stock makes the soup). Cheap whole wheat buns I picked up at Dillion’s at 7 a.m. after dropping Chapman off at the airport, topped with roasted garlic in butter, rosemary and some shredded Italian cheese (the bread, not the Chapman).

She’s also eating whole strawberries and chunks of melon. Her six teeth are helping with that.

Gratuitous food porn shot of the day – Canadian Thanksgiving edition

Sorenne eating dinner with mom, 7:30 p.m., Oct. 10, 2009.

The second Monday in October is Canadian Thanksgiving. In the U.S., it’s the fourth Thursday in November.

Why the difference?

Thanksgiving is a celebration of the harvest, and the harvest happens a lot earlier in cold Canada. But the annual gathering felt particularly Canadian last night, with plants being brought inside as the first frost hung in the air – ridiculously early for Manhattan, Kansas – and Don Cherry of Hockey Night in Canada on the tube as the Kansas State 66-14 football loss was too embarrassing to watch.

It especially felt like Canada because the Toronto Maple Leafs sucked – like they have for the past 42 years.

On the menu: turkey breast (overheard? Doug, how do you get it so moist? use a meat thermometer), stuffing (more vegetables than bread and used up all the sage before the frost), acorn squash stuffed with pecans, apple, lime juice and brown sugar (got the most raves); rosemary garlic mashed potatoes (thanks for the prep help, Jen) fat-free gravy via my coolio decanter, fruit salad (thanks Peter and Yasmin) and chocolate mousse (thanks, Jen).