In accordance with the Food Safety Act and Regulation (EC) No. 178 of 2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the Environmental Health Directorate within the Superintendence of Public Health wishes to inform the public that, from information received through the operator, said products must not be consumed since these contain an ingredient which is potentially contaminated with Ethylene oxide.

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Ethylene oxide is a pesticide that is not permitted for use in foods sold in the EU but is approved for use by other countries outside the EU. Although the consumption of the contaminated product does not pose an immediate risk to health, there is an increased risk if there is continued consumption of this chemical in contaminated foods over a long period of time. Therefore, exposure to ethylene oxide needs to be minimised as much as possible. This recall is also in line with common approach agreed on by member states, which can be viewed on https://ec.europa.eu/food/system/files/2021-07/rasff_ethylene-oxide-incident_e410_crisis-coord_sum.pdf 

For further information, the public is kindly requested to contact the Health Inspectorate Services between 8:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on telephone number 21337333 or by email [email protected]. 

​The public is also being invited to access the Directorate's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Environmental-Health-Directorate-Malta/145027878928626?ref=hl  or our official website for similar information - https://deputyprimeminister.gov.mt/en/environmental/Pages/Home-Page.aspx.