Undeclared allergen found in American chocolate blueberries

A kind of chocolate blueberries manufactured by See's Candies in the United States has been found to contain a food allergen, milk, that was not declared on the product's food label.

A spokesman for the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (August 21) advised consumers who are allergic to milk to refrain from eating the product. The trade should also stop selling it immediately.

Product details are as follows:

Product name: Dark Chocolate Blueberries
Manufacturer: See's Candies
Place of origin: US
Best before: December 31, 2013
Packaging: Prepackaged in bag (8 ounces) or loose pack

"Upon noticing that the above product was being recalled in America through its routine Food Incident Surveillance System, the CFS contacted the local official dealer and alerted the trade to the incident. The CFS was informed by the official dealer that the affected product had been imported to Hong Kong earlier this month. It was available for sale at three See's Candies retail stores in Hong Kong and has already been taken off the shelves. For enquiries about the recall, members of the public may call the company at 2523 4977 during office hours," the spokesman said.

CFS staff have conducted checks at the retail stores and, so far, no affected product has been found. Apart from being sold in prepackaged form, the affected product was also packaged for customers at the point of sale in the retail stores. Therefore, consumers who have recently bought any chocolate blueberries of this brand and are unsure of the product details should stop eating the product if they are allergic to milk. People are advised to seek medical advice if they feel sick after consuming the product concerned.

"People who are allergic to milk may have immunologic response like vomiting, diarrhoea and rash upon consumption of food containing this allergen. In severe cases anaphylactic shock may even develop. As for other members of the public, generally speaking, they would not be subject to such reactions when the food in question is consumed," the spokesman said.

So far the CFS has not received any reports of persons feeling unwell after consuming the product. We will monitor the developments of the incident and take appropriate actions as and when necessary.

Ends/Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:55