I bake or make most of our own treats but there are times that just call for store bought. Sadly you have to second guess yourself anymore when reaching for something on a store shelf:

“National Brands of Spring Valley, N.Y., said in a statement issued today by the Food and Drug Administration that it’s pulling all of its 4.76 oz. (135 g.) and 12.3 oz. (350 g.) cans of Topaz brand Wafer Rolls. They come in four flavors: vanilla, chocolate, hazelnut chocolate and mocha-cappuccino.

“The company said FDA tests turned up melamine, which is used in plastics and is blamed for deaths of at least six kids in China and scores of pets in North America after it was found in Chinese infant formula and pet food with ingredients imported from China.”

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

With the current news of some chocolate around the world testing positive for melamine, reader Renee emailed me a response sent to her by Lindt after she inquired about the dairy used in their chocolate.

They assured her that the dairy used in their U.S. production comes from the U.S., not China, and is free of melamine:

“All milk ingredients used in the production of our products conform to applicable laws within Europe and the United States.

“Milk ingredients used in Lindt’s chocolate production are free of Melamine and do not originate from China . Lindt USA procures its milk products from sources within the United States; likewise, our European affiliates procure products within their respective territories.”

I love Lindt, so this is great to hear. Thanks for keeping us in the loop, Renee!

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Cadbury is recalling over one million chocolate bars made in their factory in Beijing after they were found to contain melamine. The 11 recalled varieties were sold mostly in Asia and the Pacific, and Hershey, producers of Cadbury in the US, say the chocolate sold in the US is not affected and that they don’t purchase their dairy products from China.

The affected Cadbury chocolate include Cadbury Dark Chocette, Cadbury Eclairs, Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate, Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate, Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate and Cadbury Hazelnut Praline Chocolate.

Kraft, the makers of Oreo, and Mars, who make M&M’s, are both questioning the findings of an Indonesian test that found traces of melamine in samples of their products made in China. Both companies say they’ll comply with the recall but plan to do their own testing as well. The same products were cleared of melamine in other Asian countries.

Dairy products and baby formula in China were recently found to be contaminated with melamine – the same stuff that caused the deaths of thousands of pets in the US last year – after companies added it to watered down and substandard products to falsely boost their apparent protein levels. So far 54,000 babies have become ill and four have died.

More information here.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes