Aldi sparks Twitter outrage after labelling mix up

Supermarket Aldi has come under fire for selling mushrooms in packs labelled “British”, while the small print listed the source as Poland.

As well as the word “British”, the packs of closed cup mushrooms on sale in the north of England also carried the union flag and the Red Tractor logo.

The issue was brought to the attention of Merseyside arable grower Olly Harrison, who has become a well-known champion for British farming on social media.

See also: Red Tractor Co-op British apples labelled as German origin

Mr Harrison posted images of the mushroom packs on Twitter, which sparked allegations of mis-selling. However, an investigation into the source has revealed that the produce was in fact British.

It is understood they actually came from supplier Monaghan in Scotland.

Mr Harrison, a Red Tractor board member, said the assurance system had proven robust in allowing the produce source to be tracked down.  

Investigation 

A Red Tractor spokesman confirmed that extensive investigations had been carried out to establish where the mushrooms had actually come from.

“It appears to be human error and a genuine mix up at the labelling point. To avoid further confusion the mushrooms were removed from shelves and distributed to food charities to reduce wastage,” the spokesman said.  

© Alec Brocklehurst

Despite being a mistake, the spokesman said Twitter users had been right to call out the issue.

“The supply chain clearly needs to do better on this front. Red Tractor cannot be everywhere, all at once, and the retailer has to take responsibility for getting the labelling right,” he said.

An Aldi spokesperson said: “Due to a packaging error at our supplier, one batch of our fresh British mushrooms was incorrectly labelled as Polish, when the mushrooms were in fact British. We are sorry for any confusion this may have caused.”