The Food Standards Agency has issued allergy alert FSA-AA-11-2026 for THIS™ Isn't Chicken Deli Pieces, recalling the product due to undeclared soya and wheat (gluten). Both are major allergens under UK food law, and the absence of correct labelling poses a risk to consumers with soya or wheat allergies or coeliac disease.
The alert applies specifically to THIS™ Isn't Chicken Deli Pieces. Hospitality operators, caterers and food retailers who stock or have recently purchased this product are advised to check their supplies, withdraw affected stock from use and service, and not serve it to customers.
Why This Matters for Operators
THIS™ is one of the most widely distributed plant-based brands in the UK, present in retail, food service and hospitality settings including pub kitchens, hotel breakfast operations and restaurant menus that offer vegan alternatives. The Deli Pieces format is commonly used as a cold sandwich and salad ingredient.
The specific risk in this case is to consumers who believe they are buying a product free from soya and wheat because those allergens do not appear on the label — when in fact the product contains both. For a customer with a soya allergy or coeliac disease who checks the label and proceeds to eat the product, the consequence can be severe.
This is not a labelling technicality. It is the type of failure that allergen law is specifically designed to prevent.
What Operators Should Do Now
If you stock THIS™ Isn't Chicken Deli Pieces in any format — kitchen prep, grab-and-go, buffet or menu ingredient — take the following steps:
- Remove affected product from use immediately and do not serve it
- Check your allergen matrix — if you have recorded this product as soya or gluten-free based on label information, update your records
- Brief front-of-house and kitchen staff — if the product has been served to customers this week and any customer reported an allergic reaction, record the detail and contact your EHO
- Contact your supplier for return and credit process
If the product appears on a written or digital allergen menu as free from soya or wheat, that information must be corrected immediately.
The Wider Pattern
This recall follows a broader pattern of allergen alerts remaining the leading category of UK food safety withdrawals — a trend that has continued despite Natasha's Law, enhanced PPDS labelling requirements and four years of enforcement activity. Plant-based and free-from products, where consumers often specifically rely on the label to manage risk, are a recurring area of concern in FSA alert data.
The full FSA alert FSA-AA-11-2026 is available at food.gov.uk/news-alerts.
Source: Food Standards Agency, food.gov.uk