This includes products such as Kexchoklad, Sportlunch and Polly. It is all about palm oil from Malaysia which is said to have been contaminated with mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) and therefore potentially hazardous to health.
The danger was discovered in Denmark, where there was an alarm about the same raw material supplier that Cloetta uses. In Sweden, there are no statutory limits regarding mineral oil pollution.
– When we received the information, we chose to keep the finished products in our warehouse, so we have never had a sales stop. It’s important not to scare people, says Laura Lindholm, communications and IR director at Cloetta.
Health risk for children and adults
Cloetta’s head office for commercial operations is located in Malmö.
– With the help of the Swedish Food Agency’s risk assessor, we have assessed that a health risk cannot be ruled out for either children or adults. About 850 tonnes are tracked by Cloetta and there are different products and batches that are affected, says William Osmani, food inspector in Malmö, to the news agency Siren.
– Due to the lack of clear regulations and the fact that it is about such complex matters, we needed to get a position from the relevant authorities. Even if it’s not about a raw material that goes straight into the product but can have lower levels, we don’t want to take any risks, says Laura Lindholm, communications and IR director at Cloetta, to Siren.