Cadbury testing regime under fire

London — Government food safety experts have slammed testing procedures at Cadbury Schweppes, as part of the official investigation into the salmonella contamination at the company’s plant in Marlbrook, Herefordshire. The incident led to a major recall of Cadbury own-brand chocolate products on 21 June.

The Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food (ACMSF) has concluded that the confectionery company’s reliance on end-product testing “is not a suitable instrument for guaranteeing the safety of the food.”

According to the committee, Cadbury’s approach did not adequately address the risks of salmonella in chocolate and its product testing methods underestimated the level and likelihood of salmonella contamination.

“In order to give assurance about the absence of salmonella or any other pathogen in food a prohibitively large amount of product would need to be tested. However, even this would not guarantee absence of the micro-organism,” the ACMSF stated.

Instead, the experts group also called for “a robust HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) to be in place.” at Cadbury.

The ACMSF’s findings were issued in a 30 June statement issued by the Food Standards Agency.