CNA – The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on Friday ordered a recall of two Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream products due to the presence of ethylene oxide, a pesticide that is not authorised for use in food.
The implicated products are from France. The first is the Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Pint with best before dates between July 4, 2022, and July 21, 2023.
The other is Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Classic Collection Mini Cups with best before dates between July 4, 2022, and July 21, 2023.
SFA’s move follows a recall issued on Thursday by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) for the same reason.
“Although there is no immediate risk to consumption of food contaminated with low levels of ethylene oxide, long-term exposure may lead to health issues,” said SFA.
“Therefore, exposure to this substance should be minimised as much as possible.”
In response to CNA’s queries, importer Frosts Food and Beverage said that the recall has been completed. It added that the affected products were sold at all major supermarkets, online supermarkets and convenience stores in Singapore.
“Trace amounts” of ethylene oxide were detected in two batches of the product, said Frosts in an updated statement.
“Having thoroughly investigated this issue to determine the source, the root cause of this non-compliance issue indicated trace levels of (ethylene oxide) can be traced to one ingredient – vanilla extract, provided by one of the suppliers,” the company added.
The levels of the detected substance “marginally exceed analytical detection limits”, said Frosts.
Only Häagen-Dazs’ Plain Vanilla products are affected by the recall.
“No other format or flavours of Haagen-Dazs, including any other vanilla-based products or stick bars, are impacted by this recall,” the importer said.
