The Ministry of Health (MoH) has recently revealed that the Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream products have been pulled from the Malaysian supermarket shelves since last month.
According to a media statement from the Health DG, Tan Sri Dr. Noor Hisham Abdullah, the products were detected to contain a carcinogenic substance, ethylene oxide (ETO) above the permitted level. For those who are curious, ETO is a chemical gas compound often used for fumigation purposes to kill pests such as insects.
“The MoH took note that the Häagen-Dazs ice cream products have been recalled from the European market as they contained ethylene oxide, based on the notification by the European Union’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed. The notification stated that there had been a recall of ice cream products from France that contain vanilla extract from Madagascar, which was found to contain more than the permitted level of ETO. The products have also been distributed to several countries, including Malaysia,” Dr. Noor Hisham revealed in his statement.
He added by saying, “Since the issue was made aware to the Malaysian Ministry of Health in July 2022, appropriate action has been taken where the importing companies have voluntarily withdrawn the ice cream products involved. There will also be continuous monitoring to ensure that the products will not be sold in this country.”
Dr. Noor Hisham also reassured that the Health Ministry is always aware and concerned about incidents that could threaten the health of consumers. Inquiries can also be made at http://moh.spab.gov.my, or via the Food Safety & Quality Division’s official Facebook page.
Apart from Malaysia, many other countries such as Singapore have also recalled the same products by the ice cream brand from the US.
Source: The Vibes.
