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Sweet mix ups and packaging blunders
Even the biggest sweet makers get things wrong. Some blunders are funny, some are serious, and a few led to recalls across whole continents. Here are the sweet mix ups and packaging mistakes that made the news, and what the companies did next.
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Making sweets is a precise business, and the label matters as much as the recipe. When things go wrong, the result can be a recall, a court case or a lot of sticky wrappers.
Missing nut warnings
Cadbury had two labelling problems in 2007. On 10 February 2007, it recalled some of its Easter eggs, because they had been made in a factory that handled nuts and the packaging did not make that clear. Cadbury said the products were perfectly safe for people without nut allergies.
That September came a second recall. A printing mistake at the Somerdale factory left tree nut allergy warnings off 250 g Dairy Milk Double Chocolate bars, and thousands of bars were recalled, Cadbury's second recall of chocolate bars in two years. For how to read the allergy information on a sweet, see how to read a sweet label
Plastic in a Snickers
In February 2016, Mars recalled chocolate bars in 55 countries after a piece of plastic was found in one bar. The recalled products, Mars bars, Snickers, Milky Way Minis, Miniatures and some Celebrations boxes, had all been made at Mars's factory in Veghel, in the southern Netherlands, with best before dates from 19 June 2016 to 8 January 2017.
A mouse in a Topic
In 1997, a Topic bar was found to contain the remains of a mouse. An investigation traced the contamination to a supplier in Turkey, and the UK courts ruled that Mars could not be held negligent under the Food Safety Act, because it had exercised due diligence in inspecting the supplier's operations: see sweets from the 1960s
Lead in a sour chew
In January 2011, the US distributor of the Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge chew bar, made in Pakistan, recalled it because of lead contamination, first detected by the California Department of Public Health: see the history of sour sweets
The toffee that stuck
Not every blunder is dangerous. Quality Street's Toffee Penny stuck to its cellophane wrapper for years, because toffee draws in moisture, until in 1967 a foil backed paper wrapper solved the problem: see why are sweets wrapped?
Bigger scares and changes
Some problems were far more serious, such as the Cadbury salmonella scare of 2006 and the Kinder salmonella recall of 2022: see the Cadbury salmonella scare of 2006 and the Kinder salmonella recall. Others were deliberate changes that customers noticed straight away: see the Toblerone gaps
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Questions and answers
Why did Cadbury recall chocolate in 2007?
Twice, for labelling errors. In February 2007 some Easter eggs made in a factory that handled nuts did not make this clear, and in September a printing mistake left tree nut allergy warnings off 250 g Dairy Milk Double Chocolate bars.
Why did Mars recall chocolate bars in 2016?
A piece of plastic was found in one bar. Mars recalled Mars bars, Snickers, Milky Way Minis, Miniatures and some Celebrations made at its factory in Veghel in the Netherlands, in 55 countries.
Why do allergy labels matter so much on sweets?
Because people with allergies rely on the label to avoid the foods that can make them ill. Both Cadbury recalls of 2007 were about nut warnings that were unclear or missing, although the company said the chocolate was safe for people without a nut allergy.
Sources
- Cadbury, Wikipedia
- Mars recalls chocolates in 55 countries, 23 February 2016, France 24
- Topic (chocolate bar), Wikipedia
- Toxic Waste (candy), Wikipedia
- Quality Street (confectionery), Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Sweet scandals and controversiesThe Cadbury salmonella scare of 2006In 2006 a leaking pipe put salmonella into a Cadbury production line. Cadbury took months to tell the regulator, recalled a million bars and was fined £1m.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesThe Kinder salmonella recallIn spring 2022, salmonella traced to a Kinder factory in Belgium made hundreds ill, mostly young children. Ferrero recalled Kinder products in many countries.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesThe Toblerone gapsIn 2016 Toblerone widened the gaps between its peaks in the UK, cutting the weight by about 10% at the same price. The outcry reached Poundland.
- Questions people askWhy are sweets wrapped?Wrappers keep out the air and moisture that change sweets, hold in aroma and flavour, and gave Quality Street its twist wrap. Here is how.
- Diet, allergens and labelsHow to read a sweet labelWhat each part of a sweet label means: ingredients by weight, allergens in bold, E numbers, the nutrition table, legal warnings and when there is no date.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesShrinkflation: why sweets keep getting smallerShrinkflation is when products shrink but prices do not. Mars bars, Toblerone, the Chocolate Orange and Creme Eggs are some British examples.