~ Divico says it hasn’t imported affected batches ~
PHILIPSBURG--Food Safety Inspectors from the Inspectorate of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA will “be on the lookout” to ensure that recalled batches of Mars, Snickers, Milky Way, Celebrations and Mini Mix Snickers and Mars chocolate bars are not on store shelves in St. Maarten.
Recalled batches that are found on shelves will be pulled. Mars Inc. has recalled chocolate bars and other products in 55 countries, mainly in Europe, after a piece of plastic was found in a Snickers bar in Germany, the US confectionery maker said on Tuesday.
A St. Maarten Health Inspectorate official that said while the inspectorate was currently not aware of whether the products were on the local market, if they are, consumers will be alerted not to consume them. A recall order was issued by the Dutch Food Commodity and Authorities NVWA dated February 23.
Divico official Andre Tasso said 99 per cent of the chocolates Divico brought in came from United States and these have no issues, as the recalled batches are from a factory in the Netherlands. Tasso said the one per cent of the chocolates coming from Europe also had no issue. Divico is the official distributor of the chocolates in the country.
All of the recalled products, which include Mars, Snickers and Milky Way bars, were manufactured at a Dutch factory in Veghel, according to a Mars spokeswoman. They were sold in European countries, including Germany, France and Britain, and in certain countries in Asia.
The recall, in effect since Monday, follows a January 8 complaint from a consumer in Germany, who said she found red plastic in a Snickers bar and sent it back to the company.
“We cannot be sure that this plastic was only in that particular Snickers,” a Mars Nederland spokeswoman said. “We do not want any products on the market that may not meet our quality requirements, so we decided to take them all back.”
It was not immediately clear how much the complex recall would cost the company, which is unlisted and therefore does not disclose detailed financial information. The spokeswoman declined to comment on financial implications of the recall, which is the first to affect the factory employing about 1,200 people.
Consumer product recalls can have huge reputational and financial effects, as Nestlé learned last year when it recalled its Maggi noodles from India after a package was found to have unsafe levels of lead.
A statement posted earlier on the website of the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority said Mars was recalling Snickers, Mars, Milky Way, Celebrations and Mini Mix after a piece of plastic was found in one of its products that in certain circumstances could cause choking. Mars Nederland said it was working closely with the Dutch food safety authority on the matter, according to the statement.
The privately-held company earlier said it had recalled products in Germany. It said the recall affected all Mars and Snickers products, Milky Way Minis and Miniatures, as well as certain kinds of Celebrations confectionery boxes with best-before dates ranging from June 19, 2016, to January 8, 2017. Those dates may not be the same in other countries, the spokeswoman said.
Mars, based in Mount Olive, New Jersey, is one of the world's biggest food companies, with 29 chocolate brands including M&Ms, Galaxy, Twix, Bounty and Maltesers. Aside from chocolate, Mars makes Wrigley gum, Uncle Ben’s Rice, Dolmio pasta sauce and Pedigree pet food.
