Undeclared milk ingredient found in Disney brand chocolate chip cookies

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (April 7) announced that it has received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the European Commission that several kinds of Disney brand tinned chocolate chip cookies produced by a manufacturer in Denmark, namely Jacobsens Bakery Ltd, were found to contain undeclared milk ingredient. A spokesman for the CFS advises consumers who are allergic to milk to refrain from consuming the products. The trade should also stop selling the products immediately.

Product details are as follows:

Product name: Disney Chocolate Chip Cookies
Place of origin: Denmark
Manufacturer: Jacobsens Bakery Ltd
Net weight: 150 grams per tin
Consignment: All products with barcodes 57 76879 01205 9, 57 76879 01096 3, 57 76879 01372 8 and 57 76879 01373 5

"According to the information provided by the RASFF, a small quantity of the products may have been imported into Hong Kong. The CFS is contacting the Hong Kong importer concerned as notified by the RASFF to trace the distribution of the affected products. The CFS has also contacted the Hong Kong office of the brand and confirmed that its authorised vendors have not imported the affected products. For the sake of prudence, the CFS is conducting sales checks at local outlets. Initial investigation found that no affected products have been imported or sold in Hong Kong," the spokesman said.

He advised consumers who were allergic to milk to stop consuming the concerned products. People should seek medical treatment if they feel unwell after consuming.

"People who are allergic to milk may have immunologic response like vomiting, diarrhoea and rash upon consumption of food containing this allergen. In severe cases, anaphylactic shock may even develop. As for other members of the public, generally speaking, they would not be subject to such reactions when the food in question is consumed," he said.

The Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap 132W) require that all prepackaged food for sale in Hong Kong should list out the food ingredients in its list of ingredients. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $50 000 and six months' imprisonment.

The CFS will alert the trade to the incident and will continue to follow up and take appropriate action. Investigation is ongoing.

Ends/Thursday, April 7, 2016