August 2019: Supermarket chain Tesco is urging consumers to check their cupboards for a product they have to recall due to unlabelled ingredient from itsu.
UPDATE December 2019 at Tesco checkout:
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UPDATE: May 2021
UPDATE 2023:
Product recall due to undeclared DAIRY.
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Right-click link to open in a new window:
https://twitter.com/FSACymru/status/1656927677650198528
I have stopped updating all the product recalls over the years from itsu in supermarkets. But this should serve as a reminder to people who say, “do your OWN food” that there is no such thing as your “own” food when you are dependent on supermarkets and companies to get the labelling right.
One p!ssed off customer:
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Quick reminder:
“Itsu is a British chain of Asian-inspired fast food shops and restaurants, and a grocery company” – Wikipedia
Itsu was founded by Julian Metcalfe, who co-founded (or rather re-founded) Pret A Manger in 1986 after its first start in 1983 by Jeffrey Hyman and soon closure before its new start in 1986. Clive Schlee, since September 2019 former CEO of Pret A Manger, partly owns itsu and has been friends with the Pret (re-)founders Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham, which got him the CEO job in Pret 16 years ago.
A friend of Jeffrey Hyman told me on Twitter that Pret allegedly employed someone to keep changing the WIkipedia entry about Hyman:
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Sinclair Beecham has been on the board of Directors of Pret until 2018 when JAB Holdings / Reimann purchased Pret and axed him, among other Directors including Director of HR Andrea Wareham and Pret U.S. President Jo Brett. Sinclair Beecham doesn’t have a Wiki page, but his name-link leads to Pret A Manger instead.
UPDATE 2024: Sinclair Beecham is back in Pret to help fix the mess of customer complaints, the aggressive expansion of Pret and the £700 million debt. CEO Pano Christou doesn’t seem to cope well.
Also 2024, a food writer on Facebook shows how itsu’s food photos are very different from the reality of the products: LINK to video as below video player is vertically stretched for some reason. Please ignore his mistake in calling itsu a “Chinese” food place. Itsu is Japanese inspired, not Chinese.
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Further in the mislabeling issues:
Tesco now has to recall a product they bought from itsu, which has not been correctly labelled.
Quote from Express.co.uk:
»The supermarket chain, Tesco, has had to issue an urgent recall warning after one product did not have the correct information listed on the label. Those who have recently been shopping in the supermarket are being asked to check their cupboards and urgently return the product if they have bought it. The recall has been issued after the packaging of an itsu (grocery) product failed to mention it contained prawns in the ingredient list. This could cause a serious risk for anyone with allergies and people are being asked not to eat the product.« – By Sarra Gray for Express.co.uk
The [Pret] Schlee labelling saga continues …
Also UPDATE 2024, Clive Schlee from November 2024 is appointed CEO of itsu. So far to his “retirement” 😉
Also, issues of mislabelling, cross-contamination etc. are ongoing in Pret, especially where Vegetarians or Religious people eat Ham Croissants labelled as Veggie.
I explain in the article why this keeps happening: >>> Vegetarians Eat Ham.
And the reason why Clive Schlee leaves Pret with such poor results on Glassdoor & Co. and general staff complaints:
>>> “The Dangers of Non-Existent Leadership” and the anti-CEO Playbook.
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And how I “chased” itsu founder and CEO Julian Metcalfe off Twitter after his rant regarding lock-down:
Please also see LINK “How I chased Julian Metcalfe off Twitter itself.
And Julian Metcalfe’s family line, and why is he in Jeffrey Epstein’s address book?
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I worked at Pret A Manger and survived systemic workplace bullying during bereavement that involved HR, the top leadership, HQ and even the now “retired” former CEO Clive Schlee. Schlee has been appointed CEO of itsu in 2024 by Julian Metcalfe who gave him the CEO spot at Pret many years ago.
I declined 4 settlement offers if I am silent about my ordeal. But I rather speak out to help others. For an overview of important blog entries of my experience with Pret, please visit “My Ordeal with Pret A Manger”. The little arrow to the right next to each heading will lead directly to the post.
An incomplete list on what other Pret staff say about Pret’s bullying environment: Caught in the Act Bullying at Pret and What shop MANAGERS & HQ staff say about Pret incl. CEO Pano Christou.
I tell my story for the first time verbally in below audio player interview on a podcast by The Adam Paradox, and wrote two articles in the Scottish Left Review as well as mentioned by the BBC.
Please also see the MEDIA page for more on my work with the press.
NEW LinkTree
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Thank you for reading/listening.
©2017 – Present: expret.org
Interview:
(Please be aware that the player shows 0:00 but just press play)
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Bullied during bereavement in Pret A Manger 