South Korea Orders Mars, Nestle to Recall Products

By Heejin Koo

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Nestle SA, the world's largest food company, and Mars Inc. have been ordered by South Korea to remove from store shelves three products that tested positive for an industrial chemical that has killed and sickened babies.

Melamine was found in Mars' M&M chocolate milk and Snickers peanut Funsize, and in KitKat chocolate bars produced by Nestle Tianjin in China, the Korea Food and Drug Administration said today in an e-mailed statement.

Dairy products tainted with melamine, which can boost protein readings when added to diluted milk, have killed four babies and sickened 53,000 children in China, leading countries from France to India to ban Chinese imports. Melamine is used to tan leather and make plastic.

South Korean authorities on Sept. 25 banned the import of all dairy and related products made in China after melamine was found in a biscuit product imported from Hong Kong and in a snack product imported from China by Haitai Confectionery & Foods Co..

``The melamine levels announced by the KFDA do not pose a health risk,'' Mars Korea said in an e-mailed statement. ``Mars is recalling these products because it is legally obligated to do so following the announcement'' by South Korean authorities.

The South Korean agency found a melamine level of 2.38 parts per million (ppm) in the M&Ms and 1.78 ppm in Snickers peanut Funsize.

`Reporting Limit'

``Minute traces of melamine are commonly found throughout the global food chain and melamine levels below 2.5 ppm are not deemed to indicate adulteration with melamine,'' the Mars statement said. It asked authorities to adopt ``a harmonized reporting limit for melamine in line with the internationally accepted standards.''

The agency has said that the South Korean government does not allow any minimum level of melamine in its food products.

Nestle confirmed it had been asked by the Korean agency to withdraw one batch of mini KitKat made in China after tests ``detected minute traces of melamine in a single batch out of eight Nestle confectionery items tested,'' the Swiss company said in an e-mailed statement. No melamine was detected in the seven other products.

``The company immediately complied with the authorities' request, even though this product is absolutely safe by recognized international standards,'' Nestle said. ``South Korea has no regulations on maximum levels of melamine in food, and the conditions under which the South Korean authorities conducted their tests are unclear.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Heejin Koo in Seoul at hjkoo@bloomberg.net