Pesticide find spurs ice cream alert

Health authorities have warned ice-cream lovers not to consume six Godiva products imported from France after they were found to contain a banned pesticide.

The Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department yesterday said a stabilizer used in the products was found to contain the pesticide - ethylene oxide - which is not authorized by the European Union.

The six ice-cream products are chocolate cheesecake, milk chocolate frozen confection with dark chocolate, Belgian dark chocolate, the vanilla flavored cocoa infused one, caramel coffee frozen confection with dark chocolate chips and strawberry with dark chocolate chips.

The best-before dates of the products range from October 31, 2022 to April 30, 2023.

The center said it received a notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, a portal under the European Commission, about the situation and that the affected products had been imported to Hong Kong.

It said Godiva has stopped sales of the products and removed them from shelves while also initiating a recall. The center also urged businesses to stop using and selling the affected products.

According to the National Cancer Institute under the US Department of Health and Human Services, ethylene oxide is used primarily to produce other chemicals such as antifreeze. It is also used as a pesticide and a sterilizing agent for medical equipment and food in smaller amounts.

The institute said lymphoma and leukemia are the cancers most frequently linked to exposure to the chemical. It may also be associated with development of stomach and breast cancer.

The US Environmental Protection Agency said inhaling ethylene oxide is cancer inducing, while the EU has banned adding it to food.

The Centre for Food Safety had also urged the public not to consume a type of ginger root powder imported from India and a coconut drink imported from Italy in August as they were suspected to contain ethylene oxide.

People may call Godiva at 3765-5818 during office hours for enquiries about the recall.