legends · 4 min read ·
Product Recall Notice 26-0917
A bakery recalls sourdough after teeth, and later hands, appear in the crumb.
**Food Safety Board Alert · Product Recall · Ref FSA-26-0917**
**Product:** Hallow Lane Sourdough, 800 g, all batches · **Best before:** 24 Oct · **Retailers:** 14 stores, local delivery
**Reason for recall:** Foreign object identified in batch 0917.
*Do not eat this product. Return it to any store for a full refund. If you have eaten part of this product and feel unwell, contact your GP.*
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**Bakery incident report (Hallow Lane, 19 Oct, 05:40)**
Batch 0917 was mixed at 04:10. During shaping, operator noticed a small hard object in the dough. Object removed. It is a molar, adult, with two roots, and a filling of gold.
Operator placed the tooth in the bin. Operator then checked the rest of the batch. Four more loaves had a similar object in the crumb, each one set back a short distance from the crust, as if the dough had grown around it.
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**Customer complaint (Miriam Osei, 20 Oct)**
I bought a loaf of Hallow Lane sourdough on Saturday. Tonight I cut it and found a tooth in the middle slice. It was my own molar. I can tell because of the gold filling, which I had put in after the car accident in 1998. I'm not sure how it got into the bread. I checked my mouth. All my teeth are where they should be.
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**Bakery incident report (Hallow Lane, 21 Oct)**
Recall expanded to all batches from 17 to 20 October. Investigation found no contamination in flour, water, starter, or equipment. The mixer was cleaned on 18 October.
Operator noted that every foreign object recovered so far has been a tooth, adult, fully formed, with some form of dental work. All are fully formed. All the teeth show wear consistent with someone who grinds their jaw at night.
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**Recall notice update (FSA-26-0917/2, 22 Oct)**
*Foreign objects now confirmed in 31 loaves. Customers who have eaten this product should contact their GP and ask for a dental examination. Please report any loss of teeth, including teeth that have grown back.*
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**Customer complaint thread (Hallow Lane community group)**
**Lee_Ashdown (22 Oct):** Ate a slice of the toasted one for breakfast. Felt fine. Then at lunch my jaw ached like I'd been biting something for hours. Dentist says everything's healthy but there's a new filling in my back left molar I've never had.
**Priya_N (22 Oct):** Mine's the same. I can taste gold when I drink tea.
**Samuel_Croft (23 Oct):** Got a bread knife out to cut the loaf and it's still warm inside. Still warm. There's a shape in the middle I didn't put there, and it's pressing back against the blade when I cut.
**Hallow Lane Bakery (23 Oct):** We are aware of the complaints and are working with the FSA. Please do not cut the loaf.
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**Bakery incident report (Hallow Lane, 25 Oct)**
We have stopped production. The ovens are cold. The dough is still in the proving cabinets because nobody can bring themselves to throw it out.
This morning the dough had risen overnight and was pressing against the lids of the tins. When we opened one, there were rows of tiny white shapes set into it, evenly spaced, like a jaw being prepared for a set of teeth.
We have sealed the room. We are going to ask the FSA for advice.
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**FSA update (FSA-26-0917/3, 27 Oct)**
*Recall extended. Please return all Hallow Lane bread, including loaves you have not yet opened. Please do not toast, cut or share the product. If you hear a faint sound from inside a loaf, such as tapping or someone chewing slowly, please leave it on the kitchen counter and call the number below.*
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**Final bakery note (Hallow Lane, 28 Oct, posted on the door)**
Our bread is no longer for sale. Thank you for your loyalty over the years.
Hallow Lane has reopened under a new name, with a new recipe and new flour. The first loaf sold out by nine. The owner has asked us to say that the bread is made without teeth, and that the oven is checked for them every morning.