Consumers Urged to Exercise Caution Ahead of the Festive Season
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a cautionary alert, advising consumers to steer clear of counterfeit ‘Prime’ and ‘Wonka’ branded chocolate bars due to potential safety concerns.
The FSA has received reports of fraudulent chocolate products in circulation and is collaborating with Trading Standards to safeguard consumers.
Prime, a well-known drinks brand, has officially informed the FSA that it does not produce any Prime-branded food items. Consequently, the identified chocolate bars bearing the Prime label are deemed fake and may pose safety risks.
In addition, the FSA has highlighted that any Wonka bars available in stores, online, or on market stalls may not be authentic, cautioning that the listed ingredients might be inaccurate, and allergen labels may not be applied correctly.
Last year, counterfeit Wonka Bars were removed from sale after investigations revealed undisclosed allergens, posing significant health risks to individuals with food allergies or intolerances.
This recent warning comes in the wake of the discovery of hallucinogenic substances in “a small number” of chocolate bars sold at Mansfield Market in Nottinghamshire towards the end of last month.
The FSA said that consuming counterfeit Prime or Wonka bars may pose additional risks, as there is a potential that these products are being manufactured or repackaged by unregistered businesses or criminal entities bypassing hygiene, labelling, and traceability regulations.
Tina Potter, Head of Incidents at the FSA, stated, “With Christmas coming up, don’t waste your money on fake branded chocolate for your children, friends or family – you won’t be getting what you think you are paying for and you don’t know what is in them.
“There could be a food safety risk, especially for those with food intolerances or allergies.
“We know there is a problem with potentially unsafe fake chocolate bars such as Wonka and Prime bars and we’re working with Trading Standards to protect consumers.
“Please do not buy or eat these bars and if you think you’ve bought a fake chocolate bar, or if you see something that does not seem right when you are shopping, report it to your Local Authority.”
