Babyfood supplier Plum has recalled six pouched products after less than a week on shelf in Tesco.

The lines had been manufactured in the US and were among the first introduced to the UK by US business Plum Inc, which acquired Bucks-based Plum this January. Despite the similar names, the two businesses had no previous connection.

Plum rolled out the new ambient products to 350 UK Tescos on 4 November but withdrew them five days later following complaints in the US that some Plum pouches had become bloated and were unsuitable for consumption.

The affected products - some of Plum’s top-selling lines in the US - are Greek-style yoghurts in three flavours: mango & carrot kale & apple and raspberry & spinach and three Wholegrain Blends made with ancient grains: plum, strawberry & barley courgette, banana & amaranth and blueberry, parsnip & buckwheat. No other Plum products sold in the UK are affected - but 27 lines manufactured in America have been withdrawn in the US.

Plum said the new pouches were being temporarily produced in the US, and that it had always planned to move production to the UK or Europe where other products sold in the UK are made. It hopes to have the lines back on shelf in the UK early next year.

“We identified a manufacturing defect that makes a very small number of pouches unsuitable for consumption,” said Plum UK MD Scott Wotherspoon. “You can’t take a risk with this category.”

He added that the packs were in new-look packaging not yet used on the rest of the Plum range, which made them easy to spot, and some Tescos had not got the product on shelf before the recall was issued. “We caught this very early, support had not yet started and we had sold less than 850 pouches.”

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