Mars recalls chocolate over fears of salmonella
‘Low dose can cause illness’
THOUSANDS of Galaxy chocolate bars, bags of Minstrels and Maltesers bars are being recalled over fears they are contaminated with deadly salmonella.
But as many as 3,000 of the potentially dangerous products – made by US food giant Mars – have already been sold.
The food poisoning bug is thought to be related to ingredients used at the company’s British factory in Slough. Any contamination of a ready-to-eat product with bacteria like salmonella is a particular worry because there is no cooking process that would kill it.
In most cases salmonella poisoning leads to an upset stomach, however sufferers can need hospital treatment and, in rare cases, it can be fatal. The products at the centre of the Mars safety recall included 200g and 42g bars of Galaxy milk chocolate, as well as multipacks of 42g Galaxy bars.
Some 35g Maltesers Teasers bars were called back – though bags of normal Maltesers were not affected. Also being recalled were 118g pouches of Minstrels as well as 78g and 112g packs of Galaxy Counters.
The products were distributed across Britain and Ireland and all have best-before dates of May next year. Supermarkets have sophisticated systems in place to trace and recall products, but the same cannot be said of corner shops.
As a result, safety recalls are more difficult to enforce – leaving the public, particularly children, at risk. Announcing the decision to recall the confectionary, the firm said: ‘Mars Chocolate UK and Mars Ire- land are voluntarily recalling the products due to the potential presences of salmonella from the ingredients used in making chocolate.’
In this case, the main ingredients were sugar, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, cocoa mass, milk fat, lactose, whey powder (from milk), and palm fat.
The company added: ‘ Our estimate is that less than 3,000 potentially affected bars and bags could have been purchased by consumers in the UK.’ The US confectionery giant, which has a reputation for secrecy, faces serious questions about why it allowed risky food to reach the high street.
The Food Standards Agency has warned people not to eat the products and to contact Mars.
The Agency said: ‘ The FSA is working with the food business and its local authority to identify the source of the problem.’
Food safety expert, Professor Hugh Pennington warned any contamination of chocolate, even at low levels, was a problem, saying: ‘Salmonella likes chocolate. It seems that, unlike with chicken, a very low dose level can cause illness.’
This is not the first time Mars has been involved in a safety recall. Last year, millions of Mars and Snickers bars were recalled from 55 countries over concerns they were contaminated with small pieces of plastic.
In 2006, Cadbury’s ordered a recall of more than one million products, including chocolate bars and Easter eggs, after it was forced to admit salmonella contamination.
In that case, 37 people, mainly children, were taken ill with food poisoning and some required hospital treatment. The Cadbury’s contamination was blamed on waste water that had dripped into the chocolate mixture.