A break from Kit Kat

RESPONSIBLE: ‘PRODUCT RECALLS SHOULD MAKE CONSUMERS FEEL SAFER’ Nestlé takes back some of its chocolates due to possibility they are contaminated with glass.

Generally these recalls are precautionary

Experts say the recent recall of products was no need for worry and a sign that responsible manufacturers are taking the lives of consumers seriously.

This week, Nestlé recalled a “limited number” of Kit Kat chocolates due to the possibility they were contaminated with glass.

“To date, we have not received any complaints or reported injuries,” Nestlé said.

However, people were not impressed.

Hendrick Pretorius said he had lost trust in the brand since the news of the recall broke.

“Nestlé was always the nicest chocolate on the market but I can’t risk using their product, knowing they were recalled,” he said.

Since the polony recall a few years ago, Pretorius has stopped buying polony.

Food Focus director Linda Jackson said the fact that there had been so few recalls in the past was more concerning.

“If you look at what happens in the rest of the world, there are recalls daily. And the recalls are a sign that responsible manufacturers are taking our lives as consumers seriously, as well as transparency on their part,” she said. In many cases those recalls were due to labelling issues. “You may have a product that does not contain an allergen but in the process of manufacturing it may have been contaminated with an allergen, so the company has recalled it as a precautionary measure,” she explained. “Generally, these recalls are precautionary; they are voluntary recalls, not mandatory ones. “A mandatory recall is when the National Consumer Commissioner tells the company to recall the product, as they did with Tiger Brands and the polony.

“The law says even a voluntary recall has to be made public. They can’t do it secretly.”

Anelich Consulting director Prof Lucia Anelich said the recall was a principle she endorsed wholeheartedly.

“The principle related to food recalls is that they are absolutely expected to be done when consumer safety is at risk.

“So, the fact that companies in SA are conducting recalls, points to the fact that consumer safety is top of mind, as is the case in many other countries.

“It is a well-known concept that zero risk does not exist; therefore, on the rare occasions that errors in production occur, good business practice dictates a voluntary recall be conducted,” she said.

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