Cadbury said the withdrawal
was a "precautionary measure"
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An investigation is under way after
Cadbury withdrew a million chocolate bars which may have been contaminated
with a rare strain of salmonella.
The company says the recall - while the
Food Standards Agency and the Health Protection Agency investigate - is
precautionary and that the risk is low.
But a bacteriologist says there is no safe
level for salmonella in chocolate.
The possible contamination has been traced
to a leaking pipe at a Cadbury's plant in Herefordshire in January.
Samples were sent to an independent laboratory
after the leak was discovered at the Marlbrook plant, and the montevideo
strain of salmonella was identified.
Government watchdog the Health Protection
Agency (HPA) confirmed the strain and, a week ago, the Food Standards Agency
(FSA) was alerted.
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AFFECTED
CHOCOLATE PRODUCTS
Dairy Milk Turkish 250g
Dairy Milk Caramel
Dairy Milk Mint bars
Dairy Milk 8 chunk
Dairy Milk 1kg bar
Dairy Milk Buttons Easter Egg 105g
10p Freddo bar
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On Monday, Cadbury officially informed the
FSA of the possible contamination of the seven products.
The 250g Dairy Milk Turkish, Dairy Milk
Caramel and Dairy Milk Mint bars, the Dairy Milk 8 chunk and the 1kg Dairy
Milk bar are among products affected.
The 105g Dairy Milk Buttons Easter Egg and
the Freddo bar were also affected.
'Precautionary measure'
Cadbury's European president Matthew Shattock
told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the recall decision was made after the
FSA revealed there had been an increase in the number of salmonella cases
this year.
"We decided to conduct a precautionary
recall to reassure our consumers and the public at large to minimise any
confusion as to the quality of our products," he said.
Salmonella is a common cause of food poisoning
but the montevideo strain is very rare.
There have been 45 cases in the UK in the
last four months, compared with just 12 in the same period last year.
But a Health Protection Agency spokeswoman
stressed that at the moment there was no evidence for a link between the
increase in cases and the Cadbury recall.
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The
levels are significantly below the standard that would be any health problem
Cadbury spokesman
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Mr Shattock said the firm was "absolutely
satisfied" its products were safe to eat.
"We identified a problem early. We
corrected it and fixed it," he said.
Cadbury said the levels of contamination
were "significantly below the standard that would be any health problem".
It said people who had eaten one of the
affected bars should not be worried about the risks but could contact the
company for a refund.
However, bacteriologist Professor Hugh Pennington
of Aberdeen University told BBC News that the only safe level of salmonella
in chocolate was "zero".
"The fat in chocolate actually preserves
the salmonella from the normal intestinal defences, so you don't have to
eat very many salmonellas to get infected.
"It's about a thousand times less than
if you're eating it from traditional sources like meats," he said.
The factory at Marlbrook generates 97,000
tonnes of milk chocolate crumb every year.
It processes 180 million litres of fresh
milk, 56,000 tonnes of sugar and 13,000 tonnes of cocoa liquor annually
in the production process.
The crumb is transported to other sites
at Bournville, near Birmingham, and Somerdale, near Bristol, to be blended
with cocoa butter and turned into milk chocolate.
A Cadbury spokesman said the company had
been manufacturing chocolate for more than 100 years and always treated
public wellbeing as its "highest priority".
The free helpline number for Cadbury is
0800 818181.
Uneaten products should be returned to Cadbury
Recall, Freepost MID20061, Birmingham B3O 2QZ, and a refund will be given.
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