US food giant Mars Inc has recalled several of its snack brands from the markets in 55 countries, but mainly in Europe, after a customer in Germany found a piece of plastic in a chocolate bar which was manufactured in a Dutch factory.
The multinational company fears the risk of suffocation, thus decided to voluntarily recall the items under the brands Mars, Snickers, some of Milky Way and Mini Mix Celebrations with an expiration date from Jun. 19, 2016 to Jan. 8, 2017, Dutch news agency ANP reported.
Consumers can return the products for reimbursement until Mar. 31.
The company’s websites has crashed in several countries and the customer service telephone lines have collapsed, according to what an employee at the factory in Veghel, the Netherlands, told MLM.
The piece of plastic found by a customer measured around half a centimeter, said a spokesman in Germany, who added that the ‘voluntary recall’ of products of these brands shows the responsibility that the company has for the clients.
Other products of the factory such as M and M, Balisto and Twix are unaffected, said the company.
The company, who has apologized to consumers, is now investigating how the piece of plastic came into the chocolate bar, added the spokesman.
It is the first time that Mars had to recall products from the Dutch factory.
According to the company in Germany, affected products of the brand Milky Way are limited to Milky Way Mini and Miniatures.
In the Netherlands, around 4 million items have been withdrawn while Mars Belgium has also decided to pull thousands of chocolate bars from the Belgian and Luxemburg markets.
According to the Belgian news agency, in Europe apart from Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany, other countries affected by the recall include France, the UK, Italy and Spain
