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Retail news · October 2026

Salmonella recalls: the Tesco Pinch meals, the M&S pistachio products and the Ukrainian eggs — what to check in your fridge and freezer

Greencore is recalling two Pinch ready meals sold only at Tesco and three M&S products, because Salmonella was found in the pistachio nuts that go into them. Two days later the Food Standards Agency told businesses to pull eggs from one Ukrainian farm business, linked to 36 Salmonella cases in England this year. The use-by dates on the five products have now passed, which is exactly why a pack in the freezer is the one to look for — and you can take it back without a receipt. The eggs are different: you check the shell, and you throw them away.

Published 13 October 2026 · Followed up 13 October 2026 · Shopbam reports what other outlets and company filings recorded; we did not attend or audit anything ourselves.

An open fridge with a ready meal tray, a pesto pot and a salad bowl marked with a coral warning tag, beside a box of eggs with one egg under a magnifying glass

The two Salmonella notices: what shoppers need to know

FigureValueWhat it means
Products in the pistachio recall 5 Two Pinch ready meals sold only at Tesco, three M&S products. All made by Greencore. FSA notice FSA-PRIN-48-2026, as mirrored by Food In Full.
Pinch Pan Poppin' Chicken Pasanda & Nutty Pilau Rice 400g, code 5051873005819 FSA: all use-by dates up to 10 October. Tesco's own notice says up to and including 8 October 2026 — see below.
Pinch Bangin' Butter Chicken & Nutty Pilau Rice 400g, code 5051873005796 Same dates as above: 10 October on the FSA notice, 8 October on Tesco's.
M&S Super Nutty Wholefood with a Soy & Ginger Dressing 200g, code 00797016 All use-by dates up to 10 October (FSA notice).
M&S Nutrient Dense Nutty Super Wholefood 285g, code 00961035 All use-by dates up to 11 October (FSA notice).
M&S Fresh Collection Pistachio Pesto 115g, code 29526743 All use-by dates up to 13 October (FSA notice). M&S's own product page calls a pesto "Collection Pistachio and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Pesto", the name the Irish Times used.
The Pinch use-by date: two versions 10 October or 8 October The FSA notice says "all dates up to 10th October". Tesco's customer notice, dated 9 October, says "up to and including 8 October 2026". Treat any Pinch pack dated up to 10 October as recalled.
Receipt needed for a refund No FSA notice; Tesco's notice: "No receipt is required." M&S customer line on the FSA notice: 0333 014 8555.
Egg stamp code to look for 3UA1012066 Printed on the shell. From Yasensvit Ltd, Kyiv, Ukraine. FSA Food Alert for Action FSA-FAFA-03-2026, 10 October 2026.
Salmonella cases linked to the egg strain 36 Reported in England in 2026 (FSA and UKHSA, gov.uk). The strain "did not match the outbreak strains currently under investigation".
Wider imported-egg outbreak 474 cases, 2 deaths Three Salmonella Enteritidis clusters in England, as at 25 August 2026 (Food Safety Magazine, 28 August). Its 28 September update gives 586 cases across the three, with no updated death count. These are separate from the 36.
Time off work or school with symptoms 48 hours symptom-free FSA advice on both notices: stay away from work, school or nursery until you have had no symptoms for at least 48 hours.

What happened

Two separate Salmonella notices landed within two days of each other last week, and they ask shoppers to do different things. One is a straightforward supermarket recall of five chilled products. The other is about eggs that mostly never reach a supermarket shelf at all. Both are worth five minutes with the fridge door open.

The pistachio recall: five products, one manufacturer

Greencore, the chilled food manufacturer, is recalling five products because Salmonella was found in the pistachio nuts used as an ingredient. The Food Standards Agency published the notice, reference FSA-PRIN-48-2026, on 8 October 2026; Food In Full's copy of the FSA data timestamps it at 20:51 that evening. Food Standards Scotland lists the same alert under 9 October, and Karmactive reported the FSA publishing on the 9th. Tesco's own notice is dated 9 October.

Two of the products are Pinch ready meals, which the FSA notice says are "sold exclusively through Tesco": Pinch Pan Poppin' Chicken Pasanda & Nutty Pilau Rice (400g, code 5051873005819) and Pinch Bangin' Butter Chicken & Nutty Pilau Rice (400g, code 5051873005796). The other three are M&S: Super Nutty Wholefood with a Soy & Ginger Dressing (200g, code 00797016), Nutrient Dense Nutty Super Wholefood (285g, code 00961035) and Fresh Collection Pistachio Pesto (115g, code 29526743).

The FSA notice covers all use-by dates up to 10 October for the two Pinch meals and the Soy & Ginger salad, up to 11 October for the Nutrient Dense salad and up to 13 October for the pesto. M&S's statement on the notice says "Only the displayed date codes are impacted" and that no other M&S products are affected. It describes the recall as Greencore acting "in the abundance of caution", according to Food Manufacture.

Tesco's notice gives a different date

This is the one detail shoppers could trip over. Tesco's own customer notice, on its product recall page, says "Greencore are recalling all 'Use by' date codes up to and including 8 October 2026" for the two Pinch meals. The FSA notice, as reproduced by Food In Full, Food Manufacture, Karmactive and Kael Tripton, says all dates up to 10 October. Tesco's notice also lists no product codes. We have not been able to find out which is right, and the official FSA page itself refused our fetch. The safe reading is the wider one: if your Pinch meal is dated 10 October or earlier, treat it as recalled.

The pesto has a naming wrinkle too. The FSA notice calls it "M&S Fresh Collection Pistachio Pesto". M&S's own website sells a "Collection Pistachio and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Pesto", which is the name the Irish Times used when Ireland's food safety authority recalled the same three M&S lines. They may well be the same pot under a short and a long name, but check the code, 29526743, rather than the name. The Irish Times also printed use-by dates in November rather than October for the Irish recall; we could not open the FSAI notice to check, so if you shop in Northern Ireland and bought one of these in the Republic, look at the code first.

Why the dates having passed does not make you safe

Every date on the list has now gone, and the last one, the pesto's 13 October, is today. It is tempting to read that as "it's all been eaten or binned". But ready meals and pesto are exactly the things people put in the freezer on the day they buy them, and a frozen pack keeps its printed use-by date while it sits there. A recalled meal frozen on 9 October is still a recalled meal on the day you defrost it. Cooking might be expected to deal with Salmonella in a hot ready meal, but two of these five are salads and one is a pesto, eaten cold, and the FSA's advice makes no exception: do not eat it.

Taking it back

The FSA notice tells customers to return the product "to the store where you bought it for a full refund", and says you do not need your receipt. Tesco's notice is more generous on the store: "return it to a Tesco store where a full refund will be given. No receipt is required." Pinch and M&S, as reported by Food Manufacture and Karmactive, both say your nearest store. M&S's customer line given on the notice is 0333 014 8555.

The in-store recall notices were due to come down on 14 October. Nothing we have found puts a deadline on the refund, but staff are likely to know about a recall more readily while the notice is still on the wall, so sooner is easier.

The eggs: a different kind of alert

On 10 October the FSA issued a Food Alert for Action, FSA-FAFA-03-2026, telling caterers, manufacturers, wholesalers and the public to pull shell eggs from Yasensvit Ltd, of Kyiv, stamped with the code 3UA1012066. Salmonella Enteritidis was found in eggs from the business during the investigation into a wider outbreak.

That wider outbreak is not what these eggs caused. The government's release says genetic testing "showed that the strain did not match the outbreak strains currently under investigation". But the strain from these eggs "was linked to 36 cases of Salmonella infection reported in England in 2026". The separate imported-egg outbreak, three clusters of Salmonella Enteritidis, had reached 474 cases and two deaths by 25 August, according to Food Safety Magazine, and 586 cases across the three clusters by 28 September in its later update.

For most shoppers the important line is where the eggs went. The FSA says they are "not sold in large supermarkets". Most went to the catering supply chain, and some may have reached small shops such as corner shops, in England, Northern Ireland and Wales. And some were repacked by UK businesses, so the box can show a different company name and a UK packing centre code. The FSA calls the stamp on the shell itself "the most reliable way to identify affected products", as ITV reported.

The instruction is also different from the recall. You are not asked to take the eggs back. The FSA says do not eat eggs stamped 3UA1012066 and "dispose of them at home". If you bought them from a small shop, you can of course ask for your money back, but the alert itself says nothing about refunds.

The FSA says UK-produced eggs, including those in the major supermarkets, are not affected, and that thoroughly cooked eggs handled hygienically should not pose a risk. For infants, young children, pregnant people and older adults, raw or lightly cooked eggs should carry the British Lion mark or come from the Laid in Britain scheme.

What Salmonella looks like

Both FSA notices say symptoms "usually include fever, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps". The NHS food poisoning page says symptoms usually start within a few hours or a few days and usually get better within a week. The Irish Times, citing Ireland's food safety authority, put Salmonella's onset more precisely at 12 to 36 hours, with a range of 6 to 72. The NHS says to call 111 for a baby under 12 months, a child under 5 with signs of dehydration such as fewer wet nappies, bloody diarrhoea, being unable to keep fluids down, or diarrhoea for more than 7 days or vomiting for more than 2. It says call 999 or go to A&E for vomiting blood, severe difficulty breathing, or being confused or not responding as usual. UKHSA notes Salmonella can occasionally cause sepsis needing hospital care.

How it unfolded

DateWhat happened
25 August 2026Three Salmonella Enteritidis outbreaks in England linked to imported eggs reach 474 cases and two deaths (reported 28 August).
28 September 2026The three outbreak clusters reach 586 cases between them, in the latest update we found.
8 October 2026The FSA publishes FSA-PRIN-48-2026, Greencore recalling five products over Salmonella. Point-of-sale notices go up in store, due to come down on 14 October. Ireland's FSAI recalls the three M&S products the same day, according to Karmactive.
9 October 2026Tesco's customer notice for the two Pinch meals is dated 9 October. Food Standards Scotland lists the Greencore alert under 9 October.
10 October 2026The FSA issues Food Alert for Action FSA-FAFA-03-2026 on shell eggs from Yasensvit Ltd, Ukraine, stamped 3UA1012066.
11 October 2026The egg alert is updated (Food In Full's record of the FSA data).
13 October 2026The last use-by date on the recall list, for the M&S pesto.
14 October 2026Date the in-store recall notices for the Greencore products are due to be removed.

What this means if you shop there

  • Check the freezer, not just the fridge. Every use-by date on the list has passed, but a Pinch meal or a pot of pesto frozen on the day you bought it still carries the recalled date. Match the code on the pack: 5051873005819 and 5051873005796 for the two Pinch meals, 00797016, 00961035 and 29526743 for the three M&S products.
  • For Pinch, use the later date. The FSA notice covers use-by dates up to 10 October; Tesco's own notice says up to and including 8 October. If yours is dated 10 October or earlier, treat it as recalled.
  • Take it back without a receipt. The FSA and Tesco both say no receipt is needed for a full refund. Tesco says any Tesco store; M&S and Pinch say your nearest store. M&S's line is 0333 014 8555. If you have already binned it, there is no published route to a refund without the pack, so ask at the customer service desk rather than assume either way.
  • Eggs: look at the shell, not the box. The code is 3UA1012066. Some were repacked in the UK under different names, so a British-looking box proves nothing. They were not sold in the large supermarkets; the risk is from corner shops and catering suppliers. Throw them away at home — the FSA does not ask you to return them.
  • For anyone vulnerable, buy British Lion or Laid in Britain eggs for runny yolks. That is the FSA's advice for infants, young children, pregnant people and older adults eating raw or lightly cooked eggs. Thoroughly cooked eggs handled hygienically should not pose a risk.
  • Know when to ring 111. Fever, diarrhoea and cramps are the usual signs. Call 111 for a baby under one, a child under five with fewer wet nappies, bloody diarrhoea, or if you cannot keep fluids down. Stay off work, school or nursery until you have been symptom-free for 48 hours.
  • Sign up so you hear first. The FSA sends food and allergy alerts by email (sign up through gov.uk's "Sign up for food safety alerts"). Tesco lists its recalls at tesco.com/zones/product-recall. We could not find an FSA app.
  • A "withdrawal" you never hear about; a "recall" is your business. In the FSA's own definitions, a withdrawal removes unsafe food that "has not yet reached the consumer"; a recall is when "consumers are advised to take appropriate action". If the word is recall, check your cupboards.

Checked on 13 October 2026. A story this recent moves — we update this box rather than leaving it to rot.

Where this came from

What we could not check

  • The official FSA alert pages for both notices (alerts.food.gov.uk) refused our fetch, and the FSA's data API was blocked to us. Product details come from Food In Full's copy of the FSA data, cross-checked against Food Manufacture, Karmactive and Kael Tripton, which all agree.
  • Which Pinch use-by date is right. The FSA notice says all dates up to 10 October; Tesco's own customer notice says up to and including 8 October 2026. We have not resolved it and have used the wider one.
  • The publication date of the Greencore recall: 8 October 2026 on the FSA data (20:51) and Kael Tripton; 9 October on Food Standards Scotland's list and in Karmactive.
  • Whether "M&S Fresh Collection Pistachio Pesto" (FSA) and "Collection Pistachio and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese Pesto" (M&S website, Irish Times) are the same product. M&S's product page gives no pack size.
  • The November use-by dates the Irish Times printed for the Irish recall of the M&S lines. We could not open the FSAI notice to check whether that is a different batch or a slip.
  • M&S's own recall pages. Both rendered only navigation for us, with no notices, so M&S's refund wording here comes from its statement on the FSA notice and from press reports.
  • Whether stores will refund a product you have already thrown away, or after the in-store notices come down on 14 October. No source we found addresses either.
  • Who owns the Pinch brand. The FSA notice says only that Pinch is sold exclusively through Tesco and that Greencore is recalling it.
  • Where the contaminated pistachios came from, and whether other manufacturers used the same batch. No notice or report names the supplier.
  • Whether any of the Yasensvit eggs reached Scotland. The FSA alert lists England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and Food Standards Scotland's first page of alerts did not show it.
  • The death count in the wider imported-egg outbreak after 25 August. Food Safety Magazine's later updates give case numbers only.
  • Whether the FSA offers an app for alerts. The gov.uk sign-up page mentions email only and we found no app.

Company figures are as reported by the businesses themselves or their administrators. Where two sources disagree, this page says so rather than picking one.