A new food scare involving contamination of the spice with nuts could be more serious than the horse meat crisis, a leading expert has warned.

An investigation into imports of cumin by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has led to the recall of two products containing undeclared almond traces.

Professor Chris Elliott, who led the government inquiry into the horse meat fraud that hit British supermarkets in 2013, said: "This is the first real test of the UK food supply system since the horse meat crisis and it's actually much, much more serious.

"It's much more serious because in the whole horse meat scandal nobody got ill and nobody died because of it. But if you happen to be allergic to almonds or peanuts there is the potential of getting ill or even dying because of it."

The two UK products recalled were Bart ground cumin from the Barts Ingredients Company Ltd and Morrisons Fajita Meal Kit, which the supermarket withdrew on Thursday. Investigations are continuing and there is no suggestion the suppliers were aware of the issue.