ASDA have apologised to a coeliac sufferer who was left in “unbelievable pain” after eating crisps from the retailer which were mistakenly labelled as “gluten free”.
Teresa Grewal, from Pembroke, West Wales, was left in agony after consuming Tyrell’s sea salt and cider vinegar crisps on 13 July.
The 50-year-old, who suffers from allergy to gluten, ate the £2.29 snack after it was advertised under a gluten free label on Asda’s website.
In fact, the crisps contain barley, which aggravates her condition and left her “in pain for days”.
Today, Asda admitted they made a mistake and have rectified the listing.
Teresa’s daughter-in-law Christine James took to Twitter on behalf of Teresa to highlight the situation again to Asda on 20 July.
She posted photos of the product, saying: “These crisps are being advertised as gluten free when they are not. I suffer from coeliac diseases and ordered these a week ago.”
“After eating them I became ill, checked the label and saw they contain barley.
“I called Asda and spoke to a lovely customer service rep, who said they would escalate the misleading advertising to be removed.”
“One week later, I saw it’s still labelled as gluten free on site. Tried calling Asda again but got hung up on.
“Please rectify as this could cause serious consequences for coeliacs.”
The accompanying images show how the crisps are being sold alongside a bright green gluten free badge.
However, the allergy advice on the product shows the word “barley” in bold, black writing.
Speaking today Teresa said: “I was lucky I was in the house at the time, if it comes on, I can’t stop it.
“I had a quarter of the bag and I thought I’m going to be bad.
“If other coeliacs buy them, they could be in trouble, why is this still advertised as gluten free?”
“The pain is unbelievable, I had to rush to the toilet. It lasts for a couple of days.”
Teresa says Asda offered her a voucher and also claims that one of their employees hung up on her when she phoned them a second time to complain.
She added: “A woman put the phone down, it just went dead after I mentioned that this could cause bowel cancer in coeliacs.
“As long as something is done about this, the £8 voucher doesn’t make up for the days of pain.”
Today, Asda said sorry to Teresa and amended the label.
A spokesman for Asda said: “We have apologised to Ms Grewal for the error on our website which has now been corrected.”
“Customers can be reassured that all our products are clearly labelled with allergen information in bold and we would advise anyone with an allergy to check the product ingredients before consumption.”
According to the NHS website, Coeliac disease is a condition where the immune system attacks its own tissues when gluten is consumed.
The website adds: “Eating even tiny amounts can trigger symptoms of coeliac disease and increase your risk of developing the complications outlined below.”
Complications associated with consuming gluten are malabsorption, malnutrition, lactose intolerance, cancer as well as further complications in pregnancy.
