Cadbury’s has apologised to customers after it cleared shelves of one of its popular products. The firm says there is a quality issue affecting its Hot Chocolate.
It says while the best-selling drink is safe to consume its texture and colour are different to usual. But is says other brands of its chocolate drinks are not affected.
Many shoppers had noticed the brand was missing and the issue was raised across various social media channels including mumsnet. One would-be customer, named manoeuvred, posted on the site: “We usually buy Cadbury ‘Original’ Hot Chocolate, which is made with hot milk, rather than the ‘Instant’ variety made with hot water. However, I looked for it at Tesco when doing the online shopping and it wasn’t on the list – I don’t mean “out of stock”, but simply vanished.
“I went round to our local mini supermarkets and couldn’t find it there either. Is something sinister going on?” They later added: We have a Tesco Metro, a Little Waitrose, and a Sainsbury’s Local on our high street and none of them have it.”
Many others confirmed the issue. Smallsilvercloud said: “I don’t know, I was in Tesco today and fancied some, but not on the shelves so I bought costa hot chocolate. Maybe a delay from the supplier.”
Madlymumming said they had failed at Tesco but got some at Sainsbury last weekend. They added: “Hoping I can get some more this week.”
Meanwhile Potentialmadcatlady added: “My Amazon subscribe and save has been suspended this month as they can’t get it.” and Whattohavefordinneragain said: “I’ve been trying to get some for weeks, I’ve tried Sainsbury’s, Morrisons & several Tescos but absolutely nothing.”
The brand appears to be affected across the globe. Posting on its blog Foster’s Food Fair told its customers: “Cadbury is withdrawing from the sale of Cadbury Drinking Chocolate products as a precautionary measure. They have identified a food quality issue in some products due to production variability.
“This means that, in some instances, the texture and color of the product may not look as expected. Please
Rest assured, this is not a food safety issue, and the product is safe to consume.”
It continued: “The company is recalling the following products:
- Cadbury Drinking Chocolate (Fairtrade)
“Any unopened affected product may be returned to your local Foster’s for a full refund with the original receipt. Rest assured, this is not a food safety issue, and the product is safe to consume.”
In a statement a spokesperson from Mondelēz International which owns Cadbury’s apologised to customers. It said: “Ensuring our consumers enjoy consistently high-quality Cadbury products is of paramount importance to us.
“We have identified a food quality issue in Cadbury Drinking Chocolate products meaning in some instances the texture and colour of the product may not look as expected. As a result, we have swiftly withdrawn affected products from retailers, to make specific improvements to future production.
“This unfortunately means Cadbury Drinking Chocolate products will be unavailable for a short period. We are working hard to get Cadbury Drinking Chocolate back in shops again quickly, and we envisage this will be around mid-December.
“Other hot chocolate products including Bournville Cocoa, Green & Blacks Cocoa, Cadbury Instants and Cadbury Highlights are not impacted.”