Miserable days! More Haagen-Dazs was destroyed due to a cancer fear

Monday in Samut Prakan, approximately 28,000 pints of Haagen-Dazs ice cream with a total retail value of 12 million baht were discarded despite the fact that the samples had not been verified to have a cancer-causing ingredient. According to today’s Bangkok Post, Weerachai Nolwachai, the deputy secretary-general of Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), stated on Tuesday that a number of European countries had recalled Haagen-Dazs ice cream from sale following a warning that batches with expiration dates between March 16 and April 23, 2023, may be contaminated with pesticide. The Food and Drug Administration of the United States contributed this data (FDA).

The chemical of concern, 2-chloroethanol, is a byproduct of ethylene oxide, a pesticide that is not authorised for use in foods sold in the European Union but is allowed in certain non-EU nations. Since the year 2020, around 3,000 product recalls in the EU have been caused by ethylene oxide. There have been many more recalls outside the EU, including a recent high-profile international recall of Haagen-Dazs ice cream distributed to approximately 80 countries. At that time, the Thai Food and Drug Administration had determined that none of the batches associated with cancer had entered Thailand. In September of 2020, ethylene oxide was detected in sesame seeds imported into the EU from India. India provides more than fifty percent of the sesame consumed in the EU. It is believed that ethylene oxide fumigation, which is used to limit the growth of salmonella bacteria during food storage, has been routine practice for many years. Consuming ice cream that has been poisoned in this manner does not pose an immediate hazard to one’s health; but, there is a growing risk connected with prolonged consumption over time. According to Mr. Weerachai, the FDA’s inspection revealed that the products referenced in the warnings were not imported into Thailand. The local Haagen-Dazs importer Jagota Brothers Trading Co., which is owned by the American manufacturer General Mills, has recalled and destroyed more batches. The products were destroyed under the supervision of the FDA and the public health office of Samut Prakan. If customers have concerns or complaints about the safety of a product, they can phone the FDA’s toll-free hotline at 1556, post on the FDA’s Facebook page, or send an email to [email protected].