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Cadbury
salmonella scare probed |
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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.
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The company says
the recall - while the Food Standards Agency and the Health
Protection Agency investigate - is precautionary and that the
risk is low. |
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But a
bacteriologist says there is no safe level for salmonella in
chocolate. |
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The possible
contamination has been traced to a leaking pipe at a Cadbury's
plant in Herefordshire in January. |
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Samples were sent
to an independent laboratory after the leak was discovered at
the Marlbrook plant, and the montevideo strain of salmonella was
identified. |
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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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On Monday, Cadbury
officially informed the FSA of the possible contamination of the
seven products. |
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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. |
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The 105g Dairy Milk
Buttons Easter Egg and the Freddo bar were also affected. |
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'Precautionary
measure' |
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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. |
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"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. |
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Salmonella is a
common cause of food poisoning but the montevideo strain is very
rare. |
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There have been 45
cases in the UK in the last four months, compared with just 12
in the same period last year. |
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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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Mr Shattock said
the firm was "absolutely satisfied" its products were safe to
eat. |
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"We identified a
problem early. We corrected it and fixed it," he said. |
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Cadbury said the
levels of contamination were "significantly below the standard
that would be any health problem". |
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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. |
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However,
bacteriologist Professor Hugh Pennington of Aberdeen University
told BBC News that the only safe level of salmonella in
chocolate was "zero". |
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"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. |
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"It's about a
thousand times less than if you're eating it from traditional
sources like meats," he said. |
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The factory at
Marlbrook generates 97,000 tonnes of milk chocolate crumb every
year. |
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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. |
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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. |
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A Cadbury spokesman
said the company had been manufacturing chocolate for more than
100 years and always treated public wellbeing as its "highest
priority". |
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The free helpline
number for Cadbury is 0800 818181. |
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Do you think you
have been affected? Are you worried? Have you been able to
contact the helpline? |
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For more information, click the link below
to read the original article on BBC NEWS "English" |
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/5112470.stm |
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BBC NEWS "English" |
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