Saffron Pastries Pulls Entire Range Over Rodent Contamination
Another week, another rodent contamination recall -- and this one's a big one. Saffron Pastries has recalled its full range of biscuits, slices, cake rusks, and pastries after concerns about potential rodent contamination. That's 25 different products, all now considered unsafe to eat. The recall is specific to England, where these products are sold through independent retailers and Asian grocery shops.
This is the third rodent-related food recall in the UK in just a few weeks, following the MOMA porridge incident in March and the First National Bakery recall earlier this month. It's becoming an uncomfortable pattern, and if you buy from smaller or independent food producers, it's worth staying particularly alert right now.
What's Affected
The recall covers the entire Saffron Pastries branded range. Here are the products and their best-before windows:
Biscuits:
- Almond Biscuits (12 pieces) -- best before 17 Feb 2027 to 5 Apr 2027
- Coconut Biscuits (12 pieces) -- best before 18 Feb 2027 to 8 Mar 2027
- Jam Biscuits (12 pieces) -- all best before dates up to 18 Feb 2027
- Pistachio Biscuits (12 pieces) -- best before 17 Feb 2027 to 5 Apr 2027
Slices:
- Almond Slice (5 pieces) -- best before 17 Apr 2026 to 5 May 2026
- Angel Slice (5 pieces) -- best before 17 Apr 2026 to 30 Jun 2026
- Cherry Madeira Slice (10 pieces) -- best before 20 Apr 2026 to 12 May 2026
- Chocolate Slice (5 pieces) -- all best before dates up to 20 Apr 2026
- Coconut Slice (5 pieces) -- best before 23 Apr 2026 to 5 May 2026
- Coconut Madeira Slice (10 pieces) -- best before 20 Apr 2026 to 12 May 2026
- Fruit Slice (5 pieces) -- best before 23 Apr 2026 to 30 May 2026
- Lemon Slice (5 pieces) -- best before 16 Apr 2026 to 8 Jun 2026
- Vanilla Slice (5 pieces) -- best before 17 Apr 2026 to 30 Jun 2026
Madeira Slices:
- Almond Madeira Slice (10 pieces) -- best before 20 Apr 2026 to 12 May 2026
- Fruit Madeira Slice (10 pieces) -- best before 20 Apr 2026 to 12 May 2026
- Plain Madeira Slice (10 pieces) -- best before 20 Apr 2026 to 18 Jun 2026
- Triple Pack Variety Madeira (3 pieces) -- best before 30 Jun 2026 to 12 May 2026
- Twin Pack Madeira (2 pieces) -- best before 23 Apr 2026 to 15 May 2026
Cake Rusks and Rolls:
- Cake Rusk Soonfi (12 pieces) -- all best before dates up to 30 Mar 2027
- Cake Rusk Soonfi (18 pieces) -- all best before dates up to 30 Mar 2027
- Cream Roll (5 pieces) -- best before 10 Aug 2026 to 20 Sep 2026
- Family Almond Cake Rusk (26 pieces) -- best before 20 Jan 2027 to 11 Mar 2027
- Family Cake Rusk (26 pieces) -- all best before dates up to 11 Mar 2027
- Original Cake Rusk (12 pieces) -- best before 20 Jan 2027 to 10 Mar 2027
- Original Cake Rusk (18 pieces) -- best before 16 Jan 2027 to 10 Mar 2027
Note the best-before dates on some of these products stretch well into 2027. That means contaminated stock could be sitting in cupboards for months. If you recognise the Saffron Pastries brand, it's worth checking your kitchen right now.
What You Should Do
- Do not eat any Saffron Pastries branded products that match the descriptions above.
- Return them to where you bought them for a full refund.
- Check your cupboards: The biscuits and cake rusks in particular have long shelf lives -- you may have bought them weeks ago and forgotten about them.
- If you've already eaten any of these products and are experiencing nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, or stomach cramps, contact your GP or call NHS 111.
For more information, email [email protected] or call 01274 726101.
A Growing Problem
Three rodent contamination recalls in under two months is hard to ignore. While major supermarket supply chains have rigorous pest control and inspection regimes, smaller producers sometimes operate with fewer safeguards. That's not a reason to avoid independent food shops -- far from it -- but it is a reason to keep an eye on the FSA alerts page. These recalls don't always make the evening news, and if you're buying long-shelf-life products from smaller brands, the only way you'll hear about a problem like this is through official channels or sites like this one.