A popular health snack sold across Australia has been urgently pulled from supermarket shelves after pieces of plastic were discovered inside the product.
Recall Details and Affected Batches
The recall affects two flavours from the Tom and Luke’s Low Carb Snackaballs range, which are distributed by Smartfoods Limited. Both the hazelnut and raspberry varieties have been removed from sale at Coles stores nationally and via their online platform.
Consumers are urged to check the date markings on their 112g packets immediately:
- Hazelnut packets with the dates “3 SEP 2026” and “11 SEP 2026”.
- Raspberry packets with the dates “11 SEP 2026”, “15 SEP 2026” and “16 OCT 2026”.
Official Health Warning and Consumer Advice
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) issued a formal alert on Friday, stating the contamination poses a serious risk. “Food products containing plastic may cause illness or injury if consumed,” the authority warned. Their directive is clear: “Consumers should not eat this product.”
Shoppers who have purchased the affected snacks should return them to any Coles store for a full refund. No receipt is required. Anyone who has consumed the product and has health concerns is advised to seek medical attention promptly.
Implications for Food Safety and Consumer Trust
This incident highlights the ongoing challenges in food manufacturing quality control, even for products marketed as healthy alternatives. The swift nationwide recall coordinated by the distributor, retailer, and food safety authorities aims to mitigate potential harm and demonstrates standard recall protocols in action.
For consumers, it serves as a critical reminder to stay informed about product recalls, which are regularly published on the FSANZ website. The discovery of foreign matter like plastic in food items is taken extremely seriously due to the choking hazard and risk of internal injury it presents.
