Doubt cast on Cadbury testing
Tuesday, 04 Jul 2006 17:28
Doubt cast on Cadbury testing
An investigation into the way that chocolate maker Cadbury tests its products for salmonella has concluded that its procedures are "unreliable".
The Birmingham-based confectioner was forced to recall seven of its own-brand products last month after it admitted that they could have been contaminated with salmonella.
Included in the June 23rd recall list were a number of the popular Dairy Milk products, after Cadbury detected the presence of salmonella in the chocolate "crumb" used to make the confectionary.
Following the recall, the Food Standards Agency's (FSA) microbiological safety committee held an emergency meeting last Friday, where it was suggested that Cadbury should be doing more to reduce the risk of salmonella contamination.
"The presence of salmonella in ready-to-eat foods such as chocolate is unacceptable at any level," the Salmonella Contact Group of the advisory committee on the microbiological safety of food (ACMSF) said.
"End-product testing is not a suitable instrument for guaranteeing the safety of the food and a robust HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) needs to be in place."
The committee added: "Cadbury's risk assessment does not address the risk of salmonella in chocolate in a way which the ACMSF would regard as a modern approach to risk assessment.
"Based on the information provided, Cadbury appears to have used methods for product testing which the committee considered would underestimate the level and likelihood of salmonella contamination."
The committee also said there was "cause for concern" that the contaminated chocolate crumb was used in the production of other products than those already recalled, but admitted that it was "difficult to quantify the risk".
Cadbury said that the recall of its products was "purely as a precautionary measure" but revealed it would be reassessing its policy in the light of the committee's findings.
Salmonella can cause sickness and diarrhoea and the FSA is advising people not to eat any of the affected products.
Those brands recalled are: Cadbury Dairy Milk Turkish 250g, Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel 250g, Cadbury Dairy Milk Mint 250g, Cadbury Dairy Milk 8 chunk, Cadbury Dairy Milk 1kg, Cadbury Dairy Milk Button Easter Egg 105g and Cadbury Freddo 10p.