Mars Korea reacts to Korean results

No Danger to Health Cited, Product recall in line with regulations

(Korea) The Korean authorities have released test results today announcing that trace amounts of melamine were found in one sample of Snickers® Peanut Bar Funsize® Snacks and one sample of M&M’s® Milk Chocolate Candies, among more than 130 samples tested. Mars Korea is temporarily recalling these products from the Korean market because it is legally obligated to do so following the announcement by the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). The melamine levels announced by the KFDA do not pose a health risk.

The KFDA results indicate a melamine level of 2.38 parts per million (ppm) in M&Ms® Milk Choclate Candies and 1.78ppm in Snickers® Peanut Bar Funsize® Snacks.

Most countries, including the United States, European countries, Australia and New Zealand which have adopted the internationally accepted standard reporting limit for melamine of 2.5 ppm would report products containing such levels as being clear of melamine. Minute traces of melamine are commonly found throughout the global food chain and melamine levels below 2.5 ppm are not deemed to indicate adulteration with melamine.

Just yesterday, the United States Food and Drug Administration published a report which stated that “levels of melamine and its analogues below 2.5 ppm in foods other than infant formula do not raise public health concerns”. The World Health Organization has reviewed the melamine in milk issue and has concluded that only the deliberate adulteration of infant formula products pose a health risk. The European Food Safety Authority has published an assessment on foods containing dairy ingredients which may contain melamine traces, such as chocolates, and has concluded that there is no health risk associated with the consumption of foods like chocolate, even in very large daily amounts.

To date, food safety regulators in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines as well as independent laboratories in Taiwan and Australia have tested a large number of finished products and have confirmed that Mars chocolate products, including M&M’s® Chocolate Candies and Snickers® Bar, are safe for consumption. In addition, an independent laboratory in Germany has tested numerous samples of the milk powder used in Mars chocolate products made in China and confirmed the absence of any detectable levels of melamine.