The Cadbury Salmonella scare

The Cadbury Salmonella scare



Cadbury's chocolate could be resposible for an outbreak of food poisoning that affected at least 53 people, mainly children. Traces of the rare bug Salmonella Montevideo, found in some of their chocolate products are exactly the same strain found in people suffering diarrhoea, abdominal pain or vomiting.

The contamination has been traced to a leaking waste water pipe, and was first detected 5 months ago, in January! A spokesperson for the company said that the contamination was not reported then, as the level of bacteria was extremely low.

My comment: Salmonella is a dangerous bug and any level of contamination, no matter how small, is totally unacceptable, and this should have been reported way back in January.

Cadbury's have now recalled 1 million chocolate bars and it is rumoured that they are to bury 250 tons in landfill sites across Britain. Cadbury's, who make £1 billion worth of choclate each year, are fighting to save their reputation.

In 2004, another strain, Salmonella Newport, contaminated lettuce sold in fast-food outlets and takeaways. At the time more than 350 people become infected. In 2003, Spanish eggs were blamed for nearly 1,000 cases of Salmonella food poisoning. Last year a midwife received a record £1.2 million compensation after she contracted Salmonella from a Chinese meal, and then developed 'reactive arthritis' which blighted her life!

There's not much that we as individuals can do about contaminated food sources, but you can contact your doctor if you suffer severe symptoms of diarrhoea/vomiting, or milder symptoms lasting longer than 24 hours. If babies or young children are affected, you should talk to your doctor earlier, as youngsters dehydrate so quickly.
This content was created on Sun 25 June 2006

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