Plastic in Snickers bar prompts Mars to recall products in 55 countries

What does one do when one finds plastic in a chocolate bar? Eat it, maybe even a little more enthusiastically.

Not in these 55 countries though. 

Mars was forced to recall chocolate bars and other products in 55 countries, mostly in Europe, due to choking risk after a piece of plastic was found in a Snickers bar in Germany. The recall could end up costing the company tens of millions of dollars. 

Mars announced the recall after a customer found a piece of red plastic in a Snickers bar bought in Germany on 8th January. After he complained to the company, the plastic was traced back to its factory in the southern Dutch town of Veghel, where the piece came from a protective cover used in the manufacturing process. The recall only involved products manufactured at this plant.

A Mars Netherlands spokesperson said: “We cannot be sure that this plastic was only in that particular Snickers. We do not want any products on the market that may not meet our quality requirements, so we decided to take them all back.”

Eline Bijveld, Mars’ corporate affairs coordinator for the Netherlands, added: “As far as we know there are 55 countries involved. We are investigating exactly what’s happened, but we cannot be sure that this red piece of plastic isn’t in any other of our products from the same production line.”

The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) advised consumers not to eat the affected products and to contact Mars’ consumer care team on 0800 952 0084, [email protected] or by post at Mars R1, FREEPOST, Mars Consumer Care.