Photo: IC

Ice cream brand Häagen-Dazs has taken batches of vanilla-flavored ice cream products off shelves in the mainland market after a chemical carcinogen was detected in the product made in France. However, the tainted batches of products were not sold in the Chinese domestic market with the exception of the island of Taiwan. 

A letter from the safety bureau of imported and exported food under China's General Administration of Customs circulating online shows that ethylene oxide, a chemical carcinogen, was detected in batches of vanilla-flavored ice cream products made by Häagen-Dazs Arras SNC in its plant in France, according to the European Commission's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). 

The producer has voluntarily recalled the related batches of products which have been distributed to over 80 countries and regions, including China, over pesticide contamination concerns. 

A customer service staffer from General Mills Trade Shanghai Co, the importer of Häagen-Dazs products in the mainland, confirmed with the Global Times on Wednesday that the problematic batches of products were only sold on the island of Taiwan. The recall affects products with the best before dates from July 4, 2022 up to and including July 17, 2023. 

However, given the sense of responsibility for the consumers, the company has taken precautionary measures and has voluntarily taken all the vanilla flavor products within the range of the aforementioned expiration dates off the shelves on the mainland market, said the customer service staffer, noting that consumers who bought the related products can contact the company for refunds or exchange for other products. 

The European Union has banned the use of ethylene oxide in food, as it is a chemical originally used as a pesticide or sterilizing agent. It has been widely used in washing, pharmaceutical, printing and dyeing industries. Exposure to ethylene oxide can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and breathing difficulty. Long-term exposure can also cause cancer in humans. 

Global Times