Cadbury Announces Recall of Chocolate Products Due to Melamine Contamination

This morning, British candymaker Cadbury announced a recall of 11 of its chocolate products produced in its Beijing plants. The recalled products are:

Cadbury Dark Chocette, 45g

Cadbury Dark Chocette,80g

Cadbury Eclairs, 180g

Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate,150g Pumpkin

Cadbury Dark Chocolate, 40g

Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5kg

Cadbury Dark Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5kg

Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5kg

Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5kg

Cadbury Hazelnut Praline Chocolate, 312g (2008 Chinese New Year)

Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, 300g (2008 Chinese New Year)

I spoke with a representative of Cadbury this morning to clarify where the recalled products have distributed. Cadbury's Chinese plants distribute their products only to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Australia as well as in China itself.

Cadbury's American chocolate products are produced under license by Hershey's. They are produced in the United States with American-sourced milk products. Cadbury's produces its Canadian chocolate products in Canada with domestic ingredients. What this means for Cadbury's North American consumers is that the products will be free of this Chinese-based occurrence of melamine contamination.

What Is Melamine?

Melamine is an industrial additive commonly used in laminates, coatings and flame-retardant materials. Melamine has been found to be the cause of the illness of 53,000 children in China and the death of four babies so far. According to Chinese authorities, a group of milk producers had been perpetrating a scheme to water down milk and add back melamine to trick the protein content testing that gets done as part of standard quality checks. The milk was used in the processing of baby formula, which is what has sickened Chinese children. The milk has also been used in many other food products. The extent of the melamine poisoning may not be known for months.