Health Ministry: Week-long delay in Strauss product recall followed guidelines
Amid a massive recall of Strauss products ranging from chocolate to ice cream, pudding, cookies and other snacks, the Health Ministry said Tuesday that the company had first identified traces of salmonella in its facilities a week ago, but held off on the recall until full test results came back — actions that adhere to ministry guidelines.
The ministry also warned the elderly and immunocompromised to watch out for signs of salmonella poisoning, and for anyone with symptoms to consult a doctor. It noted that in the vast majority of cases, those who suffer from symptoms recover fully in two or three days.
Strauss Group, one of Israel’s largest food product manufacturers, said Monday that numerous popular chocolate products produced by its subsidiary company Elite would be recalled due to concerns of salmonella contamination. The move is believed to be the largest food recall to ever take place in Israel and has expanded to include several dozen products.
The Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed media reports that concerns had first arisen on April 19, when routine tests “showed the presence of salmonella in the production area but not in the food products sampled at the factory.”
The company was ordered to conduct further inspections, and an initial test result on April 21 found salmonella in raw materials used at the plant. Only once the full lab test confirmed the initial findings on Sunday afternoon did the Strauss Group issue the recall, the ministry said.
Hebrew media reports claimed that the final test results were delayed due to Passover, which was marked last week and during which many offices and operations are closed or working in a limited capacity.
View of Strauss Group offices in Karmiel, northern Israel, on November 10, 2021. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
The ministry stressed that the recalls on chocolate products had been issued as a precautionary measure, and that final lab results on those items are expected on Wednesday.
It said it has ordered the company to investigate the cause of the incident and take corrective action to prevent future cases. It also said that the factory will only resume production following an investigation, preventative actions and full disinfection, inspection and new lab tests.
News of the massive recall caused the company’s shares to drop by several percentage points. Strauss Group said that those who purchased the company’s products will receive compensation.
The products affected include some of Israel’s most popular snacks: Pesek Zman bars (those marked best before December 1, 2022 to April 1, 2023), Reva L’Sheva bars (best before between May 1, 2022 to December 15, 2023), Kif Kef, Taami, Egozi and Energy bars (best before July 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023), Parra Chocolate bars (best before October 1, 2022 to April 24, 2023) — all produced by Elite.
The recall was later expanded to include the Milky chocolate pudding topped with chocolate lentils as well as a wide range of ice cream products, added out of an abundance of caution due to their inclusion of some Elite chocolate products.
Customers with items suspected of containing the bacteria are welcome to contact Strauss on its website or via customer service at *6860.
Illustrative: Elite brand chocolate bars. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
In an interview on Channel 12 news Monday evening, Strauss Group in Israel CEO Eyal Dror apologized to the public, but insisted the company did nothing wrong.
“Last week, we received an initial indication of salmonella in our liquid chocolate tanks, which is the raw material we use to make our products,” he said. “At that moment, we stopped the process and notified the Health Ministry, before launching a series of tests,” Dror added, noting that the decision to shut down the factory, located in the Galilee region in northern Israel, was made by the company and not by the Health Ministry.
“It wasn’t until yesterday morning that we received information that indicated that the bacteria might be found in final products, which didn’t leave the factory,” he argued, “meaning that at that point we still don’t know of any product in the market that is even suspected of containing salmonella,” he clarified.
Asked why the company failed to take immediate action to notify the public once it had an indication of the health hazard, Dror said: “I can understand that some people are disappointed in us, angry at us, I would like to offer my apology… You need to understand that beyond working with the Health Ministry in full transparency, there is a process that takes time. Many times you have suspicions that are later refuted. I can understand that people are upset about this process, but I can honestly say that everything we did was done with the most genuine concern for the public’s health.”
On Monday, the Health Ministry said it was unaware of any Israelis who had been infected by the salmonella bacteria as a result of consuming one of the products.
Earlier this month, the official Israeli importer and distributor of Ferrero products, Premium Confectionery and Trading, said it was joining the UK in recalling some Kinder products produced by the Italian company in its factory in Belgium, due to concerns of the products being contaminated with the salmonella bacteria.