Thread: Cadbury recalls Chinese made chocolate

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/0 ... index.html

Cadbury recalls Chinese-made candy in chemical scareStory Highlights
All recalled products produced in Cadbury's Beijing plant

Candy distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, 2 small islands

22 more arrested in tainted-milk case, raising total to 40

Milk contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical

LONDON, England (CNN) -- British confectioner Cadbury has recalled all of its Chinese-made candy products over fears they may be contaminated with the chemical melamine, a company statement said Monday.


A researcher in Wuhan, China, last week checks for melamine in milk samples collected from stores.

"The products that are affected by this withdrawal include a range of Cadbury chocolate products and Choclairs, all produced in our Beijing plant," Cadbury said in a statement. Some or all of the products were exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, the Pacific island of Nauru and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, according to the company.

Cadbury said it is implementing new food safety and quality checks at its Beijing plant and fresh candies will be manufactured.

The candy maker is the latest company to get caught up in China's tainted-milk scandal. Melamine was first found in powdered infant formula, but has since been traced to dozens of other products.

Nearly 53,000 children in China have been sickened by the formula or other products containing melamine. Four babies have died, and five Hong Kong children have suffered melamine-related illnesses. Dozens of countries have banned or recalled Chinese milk products. Watch how scare affects companies outside China »

Chinese police have arrested 40 people in the tainted-milk scandal, including 22 announced Monday in northern China's Hebei province. Nineteen of those were managers of pastures, breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing a panel investigating the case.

Eighteen arrests were announced earlier. They include two brothers who face charges of selling contaminated milk. The brothers could face death if convicted, according to China Daily, a state-run newspaper.

The raw milk used to produce powdered baby formula had been watered down, and the chemical melamine was added to fool quality checks, the newspaper said.

Melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. Some Chinese dairy plants have added it to milk products to make it seem to have a higher protein level.

Melamine is the same industrial contaminant from China that poisoned and killed thousands of U.S. dogs and cats last year.

Health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones, urinary tract ulcers, and eye and skin irritation. It also robs infants of much-needed nutrition.

The following 11 products are included in the recall, according to Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety:

• Cadbury Dark Chocette, 45 grams.
• Cadbury Dark Chocette, 80 grams.
• Cadbury Eclairs, 180 grams.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Pumpkin, 150 grams.
• Cadbury Dark Chocolate, 40 grams.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
• Cadbury Dark Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
• Cadbury Hazelnut Praline Chocolate (2008 Chinese New Year), 312 grams.
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate (2008 Chinese New Year), 300 grams.

Will there be more to follow?