Take Cover Chocolate Lovers! Mars Recalls A Heap Of Its Products!

Chocolate and confectionery behemoth Mars has recalled a number of its products across various countries, including Australia, after a man found some plastic in his Snickers bar.

The numerous countries affected come from confectionery made in the factory in the Netherlands, and extend across much of Europe, with the potential to be in Australia.

The recall has put the worry in our office’s sweet tooth, as B&T understands the factory ships some of its chocolate goodness to our fine shores. However, Mars in Australia said it wasn’t aware of any affected products here. Mars is encouraging consumers to check the label of origin – if it says ‘Mars Netherlands’, don’t stuff it down ya gob.

The recall is also only for products made between December 5, 2015 and January 18, 2016, so if you’d stocked up for all the summer parties before that date, you’re okay.

The BBC report a man in Germany found bits of plastic in his Snickers bar – probably not the crunch he was after – with the bar’s origin traced back to a factory in the Netherlands.

A spokesperson from Mars Netherlands reportedly said: “We cannot be sure that this plastic was only in that particular Snickers. We do not want any products on the market that may not meet our quality requirements, so we decided to take them all back.”

Mars Global said it believes this is an isolated incident.

“While the number of Mars products affected is limited, they have been shipped to numerous countries outside the Netherlands, including some duty free retailers,” a spokesperson told B&T.

“As a precaution, the product recall is being implemented in all markets served by our Netherlands facility.

“Only certain products labeled on pack as ‘Mars Netherlands’ are affected by this recall. Our Mars Netherlands facility ships products to 57 different markets, including Australia, and some duty-free outlets. All markets have been informed of the recall and are taking steps to execute it. We encourage consumers to check their product label—if it does not say ‘Mars Netherlands’, it is not included in the recall.”

Mars Australia added: “This recall is precautionary and is limited to products made by Mars Netherlands. We are not aware at this stage of it affecting products brought into Australia by Mars Chocolate Australia and it does not affect any of the products made by us at our facility in Ballarat, Victoria. Mars products sold in Coles and Woolworths are not affected.

“While the number of products affected is limited, it is possible that some of the affected products have been shipped to duty-free retailers or brought into Australia by third-party importers that are not associated with Mars.”

The Mars Germany site also has published the below statement on its website (which we’ve done our best to change into English using Google Translate). A list of the products affected can be found on the Mars Germany site.

“Mars Chocolate has opted for a voluntary recall of chocolate products of brands MARS , SNICKERS , MILKY WAY and CELEBRATIONS after a plastic has been found in a product .

“Are affected in Germany following products

“All product formats of brands MARS and SNICKERS , MILKY WAY Minis and Miniatures and various product formats by CELEBRATIONS .

“Affected before date : from 06/19/2016 to 01/08/2017 .

“This callback Would we prevent consumers who have purchased any of the above products , this consume . We deliberately chose a very long production period , to ensure that all potentially affected products are retrieved . Therefore, we can affirm that no other Mars products are affected by this recall .

“Mars Chocolate is in close contact with the food authorities to ensure that all regulatory requirements are met to the recall .

We take quality and food safety very seriously at Mars and apologize for any inconvenience in this regard with our consumers “

Lead image via Mid-Day.

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