Toxic Courgettes from Mr Fothergills -Product recall-

[seasprout]

RODUCT RECALL: Courgette Zucchini BATCH I


Packed Year Ending Aug 2020

Sow by 2022



It has come to our attention that a batch of our Courgette Zucchini could contain a small number of seeds that could produce bitter tasting fruits. This could be due to unusually high levels of cucurbitacins, a naturally occurring toxin that is present in all courgettes, cucumbers and peppers.

The incidence of this problem is extremely rare, but not unknown. It is not an issue listed by the Horticultural Trades Association, whose caution labelling guidelines we voluntarily and rigorously follow. It can come from issues with cross-pollination in the seed production cycle and is untraceable before growing out again for harvest. We have tracked the problem to one particular batch of seed which comes from a grower with the most meticulous growing and husbandry routines.

Normally cucurbitacins exist in very small amounts but genetic issues in the production cycle very occasionally deliver larger amounts into the seed which cause the bitter flavour. It’s impossible to test for in the seed itself and we have never had a batch of seed like this in our 40+ year history.

We recommend that if you have grown this variety from a packet with the batch code I that you do not ingest the fruits without taste testing for bitterness. A taste-test is a safe thing to do to detect if you have an affected plant which will be extremely bitter. Ingesting the fruits in any quantity could cause stomach cramps, diahorrea or sickness, so please discard the plant.

Please be assured that we take every precaution to maintain the quality of our seed stock. In this instance we are withdrawing the rogue batch from all sales outlets and in-house stocks.




If you have a packet from this batch, please send it back to us with your name and address and we’ll send you a replacement packet. Return your packet to:

FREEPOST

DIRECT MAIL RETURNS

DEPT RCB

[burnie]

Well done them for acting quickly and thanks for finding and posting

[Nicos]

Thanks for the heads up!

[Penellype]

I am growing this variety, but having checked, they are not Mr F. Thanks for the warning.

[ameno]

I am growing this variety, but having checked, they are not Mr F. Thanks for the warning.

It's still possible they're from the same supplier (most seed catalogues don't produce their own seeds), so I would do a taste-test to check for bitterness, just in case. As it says in their notice, if they don't taste bitter then they are perfectly safe.

[Penellype]

It's still possible they're from the same supplier (most seed catalogues don't produce their own seeds), so I would do a taste-test to check for bitterness, just in case. As it says in their notice, if they don't taste bitter then they are perfectly safe.

Thanks. I think they will be fine - I used seeds from the same packet last year and the courgettes were not bitter.

[rary]

Thanks Nicos I will check that out and test others as I said it was the bitterest thing I have tasted for a long time, and what I am disappointed in is the fact I had also used some my daughter had bought for us

[rary]

Seasprout I have just removed a courgette plant from the garden as it is very bitter but its one of the round varieties and a lesson in paying attention to what is posted