Salmonella Fruit Alert
UK Supermarkets Recall PrepWorld Fruit Products Over Salmonella Contamination Risk
Key Points
Tesco has recalled four products: 250g Melon, Kiwi & Strawberry pots (use-by 24 June, £2.50), 100g Kiwi Fruit Pot (£1.50), 290g Fruit Kebabs (kiwi, watermelon, mango and pineapple) (£4.10), and 125g Melon, Kiwi & Strawberry packs (£1.50).
Waitrose and M&S recalls include Waitrose's 115g Pink Lady Apple and Grapes packs (use-by 23 June 2026); some recalled items were also being sold in Waitrose and M&S cafes.
ASDA’s affected item is a 220g Pink Lady Apple, Mango, Strawberry & Blueberry fruit pot priced at £2.75 with a use-by date of 24 June.
Sainsbury's recalls include three items: 220g Melon, Kiwi & Strawberry pots; Orange & Kiwi 240g packs; Pink Lady Apple & Grape 240g packs, all with a use-by date of 23 June.
Morrisons recall includes a 220g Kiwi, Melon & Strawberries pack priced at £2.50 with a use-by date of 24 June.
The Food Standards Agency has issued an urgent recall of pre-packaged fruit products sold across six major UK supermarkets after Salmonella was found in apples and kiwis used in the items, according to The Food Standards Agency. The affected products, supplied by Kent-based PrepWorld Ltd, were sold at Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, Waitrose, and Marks & Spencer — with use-by dates of 23 or 24 June 2026.
At least 13 specific product lines have been pulled from shelves, according to Oxford Mail. The FSA says customers should not eat any affected items and should return them to the store for a full refund. If you have already eaten one and feel ill, the advice is to stay home until you have been symptom-free for 48 hours.
Every Retailer Affected and Exactly Which Products
Tesco has the most recalled lines — four in total. They are a 250g Melon, Kiwi & Strawberry pot (£2.50), a 100g Kiwi Fruit Pot (£1.50), a 290g Fruit Kebabs pack with kiwi, watermelon, mango, and pineapple (£4.10), and a 125g Melon, Kiwi & Strawberry pack (£1.50), according to Bucks Free Press. All have a use-by date of 24 June.
Sainsbury's is recalling three items: 220g Melon, Kiwi & Strawberry pots; 240g Orange & Kiwi packs; and 240g Pink Lady Apple & Grape packs, all dated 23 June. ASDA's affected product is a 220g Pink Lady Apple, Mango, Strawberry & Blueberry pot priced at £2.75, use-by 24 June. Morrisons recalled a 220g Kiwi, Melon & Strawberries pack at £2.50, also dated 24 June, according to Reading Chronicle. Waitrose and M&S recalled items — including a 115g Pink Lady Apple and Grapes pack — sold both in stores and in their in-store cafes.
One Supplier Behind All Six Supermarket Recalls
Every recalled product was made by PrepWorld Ltd, based in Northfleet, Kent. The company is one of the UK's biggest suppliers of pre-cut, ready-to-eat fruit. It opened its Northfleet site in 2022 to handle high-volume fruit processing, according to IBTimes. PrepWorld holds a BRCGS "AA+" food safety rating — the highest available — which makes the contamination detection all the more striking.
Food safety analysts point out that having one manufacturer supply nearly all the major supermarkets at once creates what they call a "single point of failure," according to Oxford Mail. When one batch goes wrong, the problem hits the entire national grocery market at the same time. PrepWorld has not issued a separate corporate statement beyond the official recall notice.
Why Salmonella in Fruit Is Harder to Prevent Than It Sounds
Salmonella is most often linked to raw chicken or eggs. But fruit contamination is a growing problem in the UK. Apples are particularly tricky to clean because bacteria can hide in the blossom end and skin indentations — areas where standard washing may not reach, according to research cited by Head Topics. Cutting fruit open also increases the surface area where bacteria can spread and grow.
The FSA estimates that food-related incidents cost the UK economy between £410 million and £1.96 billion every year. About 23,000 people in the UK get salmonellosis annually, and between 30 and 50 people die from it — mostly the elderly or those with weakened immune systems, according to IBTimes. The UK Health Security Agency says anyone with symptoms must stay home for a full 48 hours after they feel better to stop the infection from spreading further.
What Happens Next for Consumers and PrepWorld
The FSA issued its formal Product Recall Information Notice (PRIN Ref: FSA-PRIN-29-2026) on 23 June. Retailers moved quickly, pulling products and putting up in-store notices the same afternoon, according to Bucks Free Press. Public health officials are now watching for clusters of illness, given that Salmonella symptoms can appear anywhere from 6 to 72 hours after eating a contaminated product.
For PrepWorld, the financial and reputational fallout could be significant. The company may face higher insurance costs, fresh audits from retail partners, and a wider investigation into the raw ingredient supply chain — possibly tracing back to the farms that grew the kiwis and apples. Some industry analysts argue the fact that the problem was caught before a major outbreak shows the UK's food safety system is working, according to Oxford Mail. Critics counter that the process of cutting and packaging fruit is itself the risk — and that buying whole fruit and washing it at home remains the safest option.
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