Müller and Lactalis McLelland have become the latest suppliers to recall a raft of dairy products due to concerns over the presence of listeria monocytogenes.
Müller has pulled six Cadbury-branded desserts it manufactures under licence from Mondelez due to contamination concerns. They consist of a Cadbury Daim Chocolate Dessert, a Crunchie Chocolate Dessert, a Flake Chocolate Dessert, a Dairy Milk Buttons Chocolate Dessert, a Dairy Milk Chunks Chocolate Dessert (all 75g) and a Heroes Chocolate Dessert (six pack).
All affected batches of the recalled Müller desserts have a use-by date of 17 or 18 May.
In a statement, Müller said the recall was an “isolated incident”, while it was undertaking an “extensive investigation” into the outbreak.
FSA head of incidents Tina Potter said the recall was “a precautionary measure because although listeria has not been found in the product itself, it was found in a product manufactured in the same production environment, and it is therefore possible that the recalled products may be contaminated”.
Based on the information the FSA had to date, there was no information to show a link to any other listeria-based product recalls, the regulator added.
Lactalis UK & Ireland’s British cheese division Lactalis McLelland, meanwhile, has recalled four goats cheeses over similar contamination concerns.
They are: a Cricket St Thomas Capricorn Goat Cheese and a Somerset Capricorn Goat Cheese (100g each), a Somerset Capricorn Goat Cheese and a Co-op Goat Cheese (both 85g). Each product has a use-by date of 26 May.
The supplier said the recall was “precautionary”, and since implementing the recall, it was “satisfied that all lab results have tested negative for listeria” .
“We rigorously test all our products and can confirm that there have been no other batches affected. All retailers have been informed and customers who have purchased a product have been asked to return the item to the store where they bought it for a full refund,” said Lactalis McLelland group MD Mike Chatters.
The recalls mark the latest in a growing line of dairy products to have been pulled from sale over listeria concerns this year.
Products sold by the Cambridge Food Company – trading as Cheese+ – and the Somerset Cheese Company were recalled in April, while a Baronet semi soft cheese made by Wiltshire-based cheesemaker The Old Cheese Room was recalled in March.
The FSA and UK Health Security Agency warned the public at the end of March not to eat any Baronet soft cheeses subject to the recalls, due to fears of contamination – in some cases at “exceptionally high levels”.
It added that one person had died following an outbreak of the bug.
The outbreak strain had been found in some food products and samples taken from a variety of food environments, the FSA said. But there had been no official confirmation that Baronet was the direct cause of the illnesses at this stage, it stressed.
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