Cadbury Ireland has recalled two of its chocolate bars from shelves in the State amid fears they may contain minute traces of salmonella.
An estimated 20,000 chocolate bars have been recalled in the Republic. Two products imported from Britain and on sale here - the 250g Dairy Milk Turkish and Dairy Milk Caramel - have been recalled. One million bars will be withdrawn from sale in Britain and Northern Ireland.
Cadbury has also asked customers who may have bought or received Cadbury products from Britain or Northern Ireland which are not on sale here to return them to Cadbury headquarters in Coolock, Dublin.
The affected products also include the 1kg Dairy Milk, 75g Dairy Milk, 250g Dairy Milk Mint, 105g Dairy Milk Buttons Easter Egg and Dairy Milk Freddo.
The managing director of Cadbury Ireland, Graham Mosey, yesterday stressed the recall was purely a precautionary measure, adding that the source of the problem in Britain had now been identified and rectified.
The contamination was caused by a faulty pipe at Cadbury's Marlbrook plant in Herefordshire which generates almost 100,000 tonnes of milk chocolate annually. The crumb, produced at the plant, is transported to other Cadbury sites where it is blended with cocoa butter and turned into milk chocolate.
The decision to undertake a product recall was taken in consultation with the Food Standards Agency. Cadbury Ireland said it was its intention to have fresh stocks of the Turkish and caramel bars back on the market soon. Customers with the specified products should return them to Cadbury Ireland Ltd, Coolock, Dublin 5, for a full refund. The customer care line is freephone 1800 678 708