Pipe leak causes massive Cadbury recall

London – The UK Food Standards Agency has announced that Cadbury Schweppes Plc has recalled seven different own brand chocolate products due to possible contamination with Salmonella Montevideo, the FSA announced 23 June.

According to a Cadbury spokeswoman, the recall in the UK and Ireland involves seven brands. These represent around 2% of Cadbury brand product sales - currently around £800million per annum, she said in a 24 June interview.

The problem was linked to a leaking pipe which contaminated production at a Cadbury plant in back in January, the spokeswoman said. She declined to identify the location of the plant or the nature of the substance that leaked into the chocolate.

The recall was prompted by information from the FSA that there had been a slight rise in the incidence of food poisoning by the rare salmonella strain, which Cadbury had identified in March, the spokeswoman continued.

Cadbury had received the information from the FSA on Monday, 19 June, according to the company’s representative. There has been no link made between the rise in Salmonella Montevideo cases and any of Cadbury’s products, she emphasised.

The recall is “being done purely as a precautionary measure, as some of these products may contain traces of salmonella, said a Cadbury statement, issued on the same day. The decision, it added, was taken in consultation with the FSA.

According to Cadbury, it has identified the source of the problem and rectified it. The company said it is now taking steps to ensure that the affected products are withdrawn from sale.

“We have taken this precautionary step because our consumers are our highest priority. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” said Simon Baldry, UK managing director of Cadbury, in a press statement.