Mars in global recall of Dutch-made chocolate

CHOCOLATE giant Mars has issued a global recall on products manufactured at its factory in the Netherlands after a consumer in Germany found a piece of red plastic in a Snickers bar.

The company says it believes it is “an isolated incident” but is recalling some products as a “precaution”. The affected products, which include Snickers, Mars, Milky Way and Celebrations, were all the made between 5 December 2015­–18 January 2016, and are labelled on the pack as “Mars Netherlands”. It is not clear how many countries might be affected. Mars says the products were shipped to numerous countries, however, AFP reports that it might be as many as 55, as far afield as Vietnam and Sri Lanka. It is one of the biggest ever food recalls.

According to AFP, the red piece of plastic had broken off a protective cover at the Veghel factory, and the recall is the first from the site, which opened in 1963.

“We are currently investigating exactly what’s happened, but we cannot be sure that this red piece of plastic isn’t in any other of our products from the same production line,” Mars corporate affairs coordinator for the Netherlands, Eline Bijveld, told the newswire, adding that the company does not think the risk is high.

The full list of recalled products is available on the website of the Dutch food safety authority, Nederlandse Voedsel-en-Warenautoriteit.

The Chemical Engineer contacted Mars to ask for further comment and information about how the incident may have happened, but has yet to receive a response.