All outlets in Barbados selling the Haagen-Dazs plain vanilla ice-cream products have been asked to remove them from the shelves, while customers who have purchased them have been advised to return them or the receipt for a full refund.
In a notice published days ago by Massy Distribution on behalf of General Mills International, the company indicated that the ice-cream products in Barbados were recalled “due to non-compliance from a vanilla extract supplier”.
The recall advisory from General Mills International Food Safety and Quality in Miami, Florida, affects its Haagen-Dazs Plain Vanilla ice-cream products sold here. They were found to contain trace amounts of ethylene oxide (ETO) in two batches.
According to the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ethylene oxide is a flammable gas with a somewhat sweet odour. The CDC noted that exposure to ethylene oxide may cause headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, breathing difficulty, drowsiness, weakness, exhaustion, eye and skin burns, and reproductive effects.
Haagen-Dazs is regarded as a premium brand product and the company said it undertook a “thorough investigation” into the root of the contamination, which was traced back to a vanilla extract provided by one of General Mills’ suppliers.
As a result, the consumer giant said it was “taking the precautionary step of voluntarily recalling all affected batches of Haagen-Dazs from all points of sale in Barbados”.
The company said the levels of ethylene oxide found in the vanilla ice-cream imported to Barbados “marginally exceed analytical detection limits”.
Haagen-Dezs stressed that it does not use ethylene oxide in any of its products, adding that the ice-cream maker adheres “to all food safety regulations and strict standards in every market in which we operated, including Barbados”.
The vanilla products affected have best buy expiry dates between 05/07/2022 and 18/7/2023.
The company added that customers who purchased one of the products can take the product or receipt back to the place of purchase for a full refund and can contact General Mills at www.generalmills.com/VanillaRecall for any queries or Massy Distribution.
The company said no other products are affected by the recall. (IMC1)
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