Supermarket chain Waitrose has issued an urgent recall and warning to its customers regarding specific bottles of its premium Deeside mineral water, citing a potential safety risk from fragments of glass.
Product Alert and Immediate Action
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published a formal product alert concerning 750ml bottles of both still and sparkling Waitrose No 1 Deeside mineral water. The alert states the products are "unsafe to drink" due to the possible presence of glass shards.
Waitrose has acted swiftly, removing the affected lines from sale across all its stores. The retailer is instructing any customer who has purchased these bottles to return them to a Waitrose branch for a full refund or to contact its customer care team. Consumers are strongly advised not to consume the water.
Identifying the Affected Bottles
The recall pertains to specific batch codes printed on the bottles. While neither Waitrose nor the FSA provided an estimate of the number of bottles impacted, they have released the following codes for verification.
For the still mineral water, the affected batch codes are: NOV2027 28, DEC2027 01, DEC2027 02, DEC2027 10, DEC2027 11, and DEC2027 16.
For the sparkling mineral water, check for these codes: DEC2027 01, DEC2027 03, DEC2027 12, DEC2027 15, and DEC2027 25.
The water is sourced from a spring near Balmoral Castle in Scotland's Cairngorms National Park and is sold exclusively in Waitrose for approximately £1.60 per bottle.
Context and Company Response
This incident marks the latest in a series of recent product recalls for the John Lewis Partnership-owned grocer. Earlier in December, Waitrose recalled a Santa-themed drinks bottle, and in October, a plant-based meat product was withdrawn due to undeclared allergens.
In a statement addressing the Deeside water recall, Waitrose said: "We apologise that it has been necessary to recall this product and for the inconvenience caused." The company has directed customers to its customer care line for further assistance.
The issue of glass contamination has also affected other brands recently; in early December, the FSA oversaw the recall of Disaronno Originale liqueur bottles for a similar reason.
