Mars issues mass chocolate recall due to plastic
Mars, Snickers and Celebrations products were affected with Milky Way and Miniatures also involved. A piece of red plastic was found in one Snickers bar purchased in Germany.
The affected bars were produced in the chocolate factory of the Netherlands (Veghel) and may contain pieces of plastic following an incident during production, said the firm.
Products were manufactured at the Netherlands facility between December 5 last year and January 18, 2016.
More than 55 countries have been affected including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK and Ukraine, according to the RASSF portal.
Different dates, batches and products are affected in the different countries.
Mars Ireland provided a lot of recalled bars and added no other varieties of chocolate, pack formats or bar sizes are affected.
Mars Chocolate UK described it as an 'isolated incident'. For items recalled in this region see here.
So far no complaints have been notified on the Belgian or Luxembourg markets.
For products affected in the German market go here. For items affected in the France follow this link. In the Austria market these products are affected. A list of recalled chocolate in Denmark can be found here.
For chocolate withdrawn in Finland follow this link. Products affected in Switzerland can be found here and those recalled in Greece are here.
In the Netherlands, Mars single, Duo pack, Multipack, Mini’s, Miniatures batch codes 550, 551, 552, 553, 601, 602 and 603 have best before dates 7 August 16 – 16 October 16.
Milky Way batch codes 550, 551, 552, 553, 601, 602 and 603 with dates 4 September - 8 January 2017 are involved.
Snickers single, Duo pack, Multipack, Mini, Miniatures 549, 550, 551, 552, 553, 601, 602 and 603 and dates 3 July 2016 to 11 December 2016.
Celebrations all varieties with codes 550, 551, 553, 601, 602, 603, 605, 606 and 607 with dates 19 June 2016 to 28 August 2016 are recalled.
Mini Mix with codes 550, 601, 602, 603, 604, 607 and dates 10 July 2016 to 18 September 2016 are listed.
Mars said it was a deliberate choice to recall a long production period to ensure all potentially affected products are retrieved.
The firm added it was in contact with the food authorities to ensure the recall and apologised to consumers.
Other affected countries are Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia, Ghana, Hungary, INFOSAN, India, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Morocco, Nepal, New Caledonia, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Gaza Strip.
