Two ice-cream products pulled amid pesticide fears
www.thestandard.com.hk
Eunice Lam
Two popular Haagen-Dazs ice cream products have been removed from supermarket shelves after the Centre for Food Safety urged the public not to consume them due to the possible presence of ethylene oxide, a pesticide banned by the European Union as it can cause cancer.
Sales of "Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream Pint" (473 milliliters) and "Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream Bulk" (9.46 liters), with best-before dates of April 13, 2023 and October 26, 2022 respectively, have been stopped.
Both were made in France and imported by General Mills Hong Kong.
A Centre for Food Safety spokesman urged the public not to consume the affected products if they had bought any.
"Upon noticing recent media reports that the two kinds of ice cream were found in Taiwan with a pesticide, ethylene oxide, the CFS immediately contacted the local importer and retailers for follow-up," the spokesman said.
"A preliminary investigation found that the importer had imported into Hong Kong the affected batches of the products concerned."
The spokesman added that the Centre for Food Safety urged the importer to initiate a recall of the affected batches and that it will continue to follow up and take appropriate action.
Traders should also immediately stop selling the products concerned if they have them, he added.
General Mills Hong Kong said the company had similarly contacted merchants to ask them to stop selling the products and had voluntarily withdrawn the affected batches.
Customers who have purchased the affected batches can call the importer's customer hotline at 2629-6116 or e-mail Haagen-Dazs Hong Kong - [email protected] - to arrange for a refund, General Mills said.
"We sincerely apologize for the concern and inconvenience that this incident has caused our customers. The affected products only involve two specific batches and the other products are in compliance with Hong Kong regulation. Customers can enjoy our products with confidence," the importer wrote.
Taiwan media had reported that two batches of the Haagen-Dazs ice cream were found to have a very small amount of ethylene oxide. It can normally be found as a contaminant in baked goods, cereals, seeds, ice cream and yogurt.
After the incident, Haagen-Dazs Taiwan said it had stopped the sales and withdrawn the affected batches and that its global headquarters had confirmed there were no related reports from other regions.
The European Union banned the use of ethylene oxide in the food industry as it is "carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic."
Ethylene oxide has been classified as group one by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, meaning the chemical is carcinogenic to humans.
Exposure can cause headaches, nausea, diarrhea, difficulty breathing and other problems, while long-term exposure can cause cancer in humans.
[email protected]
www.thestandard.com.hk
Two popular Haagen-Dazs ice cream products have been removed from supermarket shelves after the Centre for Food Safety urged the public not to consume them due to the possible presence of ethylene oxide, a pesticide banned by the European Union as it can cause cancer.
Sales of "Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream Pint" (473 milliliters) and "Haagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream Bulk" (9.46 liters), with best-before dates of April 13, 2023 and October 26, 2022 respectively, have been stopped.
Both were made in France and imported by General Mills Hong Kong.
A Centre for Food Safety spokesman urged the public not to consume the affected products if they had bought any.
"Upon noticing recent media reports that the two kinds of ice cream were found in Taiwan with a pesticide, ethylene oxide, the CFS immediately contacted the local importer and retailers for follow-up," the spokesman said.
"A preliminary investigation found that the importer had imported into Hong Kong the affected batches of the products concerned."
The spokesman added that the Centre for Food Safety urged the importer to initiate a recall of the affected batches and that it will continue to follow up and take appropriate action.
Traders should also immediately stop selling the products concerned if they have them, he added.
General Mills Hong Kong said the company had similarly contacted merchants to ask them to stop selling the products and had voluntarily withdrawn the affected batches.
Customers who have purchased the affected batches can call the importer's customer hotline at 2629-6116 or e-mail Haagen-Dazs Hong Kong - [email protected] - to arrange for a refund, General Mills said.
"We sincerely apologize for the concern and inconvenience that this incident has caused our customers. The affected products only involve two specific batches and the other products are in compliance with Hong Kong regulation. Customers can enjoy our products with confidence," the importer wrote.
Taiwan media had reported that two batches of the Haagen-Dazs ice cream were found to have a very small amount of ethylene oxide. It can normally be found as a contaminant in baked goods, cereals, seeds, ice cream and yogurt.
After the incident, Haagen-Dazs Taiwan said it had stopped the sales and withdrawn the affected batches and that its global headquarters had confirmed there were no related reports from other regions.
The European Union banned the use of ethylene oxide in the food industry as it is "carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic."
Ethylene oxide has been classified as group one by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, meaning the chemical is carcinogenic to humans.
Exposure can cause headaches, nausea, diarrhea, difficulty breathing and other problems, while long-term exposure can cause cancer in humans.
[email protected]
