Cadbury has recalled its China-made chocolates from shelves in Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the company confirmed on Monday, in the latest development to Sanlu’s toxic milk scandal.
Cadbury said in a statement that it had carried out tests on products made at its Beijing plant after the scandal, which has sickened some 53,000 Chinese babies who drank milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine.
“As a result of these tests… we have received results that cast doubt on the integrity of a range of our products manufactured in China,” the statement from Cadbury Asia Pacific said.
“As a result we believe it is appropriate to take a precautionary step to withdraw from the market, all of our Cadbury chocolate products that were manufactured in our Beijing plant… pending further supply of fresh products.”
The 11 brands recalled include Cadbury Eclairs and bulk packets of Dairy Milk chocolate.
The chocolates are only distributed in Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as one product line that is sold in Australia.
The products are the latest in a ever-growing list of China-made foods and drinks that have been removed from stores across the world since the scandal was first exposed.
Four children have died in China after drinking milk or milk products laced with melamine, which is usually used in making plastics.
Some manufacturers had been using it to make watered-down milk appear full of protein.
Five children in Hong Kong and one in Macau developed kidney stones after drinking tainted Chinese milk, the only cases outside mainland China.