Unilever Israel published a notice to consumers on Thursday informing them of breakfast cereal product series under the Telma brand name "in which salmonella contamination has been found."
The company said that 240 750-gram packets of Telma brand cornflakes bearing an edah haharedit "badataz" kashrut certificate and a production date of 27 June 2016 had been sent to stores and that "as a precautionary measure we ask consumers to ensure that they do not have a product from the following series."
The series are:
- Production date 260616 to 270616, machine symbol B, "Cornflakes of Champions", 750 gram;
- Production date 230616 and 260616 to 290616, machine symbol B, " Cornflakes badatz", 750 gram;
- Production date 290616 to 300616, machine symbol B, "Cocoman Tzdafim", 750 gram.
The company's announcement adds, "Consumers who have in their possession a product on the above list are asked to not consume it and to contact Unilever's consumer service desk, telephone 1-800-780-780, to obtain a replacement product and have the product in your possession collected."
Unilever claims that it informed the Ministry of Health about the contamination incident immediately and that "the circumstances are being investigated by the company." "Unilever is doing everything necessary in order to ensure the quality and safety of its products," the company's announcement says.
Unilever has hired the services of public relation firm Debby Communications Ltd. to assist it in the crisis.
MK Itzik Shmuli, chair of the Knesset Lobby for the Promotion of Safety in Israel, said on Thursday evening, "From the first moment I argued that we should not rely on the company's statement that it was certain that contaminated products had not found their way onto store shelves, particularly after the policy of concealment that it followed. Instead of trying to silence the criticism, the Ministry of Health should have listened to it. The policy of self-regulation has collapsed, and this is proof that it endangers the public." Shmuli called for an investigation to establish whether or not there had been criminal negligence in the matter.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 7, 2016
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