The US chocolate giant Mars Tuesday ordered a massive withdrawal of Mars bars and Snikers and other goodies for sale in 55 countries, having found a piece of plastic bar produced in Holland.
This operation mainly affects countries of the European Union (EU), but also others such as Sri Lanka and Vietnam. and not to the US, told AFP a spokesman for Mars in the Netherlands, Eline Bijveld.
“For all we know, there are 55 countries” included in the measure, which “only concerns the production in the Netherlands “factory of the city of Veghel, stressed the responsibility. Previously, only some subsidiaries of US group announced the withdrawal of certain products in their markets.
In Europe, as well as Holland, Germany, France, Britain, Belgium, Italy and Spain were concerned. All products withdrawn from circulation comes from the aforementioned factory Veghel, located in the southern Netherlands.
“This is an isolated incident and strictly defined,” said Mars in France. Depending on the country, the recall concerns products different ranges with different expiration dates.
In France, for example, the measure affects the Mars bars expiration date falls between September 14 and October 16, 2016, as well as Snickers that have from 3 July and August 21 this year, packages thumbnail Mix tube (between July 10 and September 11), and the candy “Celebrations” (between June 19 and August 21).
– Agri-food sector under scrutiny –
The firm advised the public “not to use” the products concerned and contact their customer service by phone or Internet. But the gateway to the French branch of the firm, like that of the Spanish, were inaccessible on Tuesday mid-afternoon.
Mars France “regrets the inconvenience caused to consumers of chocolate bars “concerned by this recall, the statement said.
In Germany, retirement concerns the Mars and Snickers bars, Milky Way Mini and Miniatures and Celebrations chocolates, with expiration dates between June 19, 2016 and January 8, 2017, according to a Mars Germany.
the news agency Dutch ANP, quoting subsidiary Mars in the Netherlands, said that these products are removed there.
Mars Inc . it is an American group in the agri-food industry, known for its chocolate bars but also manufactures other food products such as rice and pasta, as well as animal feed.
the amount of annual turnover of the group it is 30,000 million euros in the case of one of the largest in the food industry with Kraft Foods and Nestle.
It has several factories in Europe, including that of Veghel, another in France in Haguenau (Alsace, northeast), one in Viersen in western Germany, which produces about 10 million “snacks” newspapers, and even one in Polona.
the food industry, under the microscope, is frequently affected by scandals product recalls. Some of them memorable, like frozen lasagna containing horse meat, as well as other products such as meatballs in the ‘snacks’ of Ikea chain, in 2013. Recently, it was found a human tooth in chips McDonald’s in Japan.
“Mars is in constant contact with health authorities to ensure that all laws about withdrawal (of products) provisions are respected,” said its German subsidiary.
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