Cadbury recalls China-made sweets
British sweet maker Cadbury said it had recalled its China-made chocolates from Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan after tests "cast doubt" on their safety.
In the latest fallout from the toxic milk scandal, which has sickened some 53,000 Chinese babies, Cadbury said it had carried out internal tests on products made at its Beijing plant.
"As a result of these tests... we have received results that cast doubt on the integrity of a range of our products manufactured in China," said the statement from Cadbury Asia Pacific.
"As a result we believe it is appropriate to take a precautionary step to withdraw from the market, all of our Cadbury chocolate products that were manufactured in our Beijing plant ... pending further supply of fresh products."
It was not clear if the tests had shown the products contained traces of melamine, the industrial chemical at the centre of the scandal.
Calls placed to the company's Asia headquarters in Singapore have not been returned.
In the statement, Cadbury said all of its Chinese suppliers have been cleared by the mainland government's testing regime.
The 11 brands recalled include Cadbury Eclairs and bulk packets of Dairy Milk chocolate, the statement said. No other brands have been affected, it added.
The chocolates are only distributed in Taiwan and Hong Kong, as well as one product line that is sold in Australia, the statement said.
The products are the latest in an ever-growing list of China-made foods and drinks that have been removed from stores here and across the world since the scandal was first exposed earlier this month.
Four children have died in China after drinking milk or milk products laced with melamine, which is usually used in making plastics.
Some manufacturers had been using it to make watered-down milk appear full of protein.
Five children in Hong Kong and one in Macau developed kidney stones after drinking tainted Chinese milk, the only cases outside mainland China.
Dozens of countries have now banned dairy products from China or taken steps to curb consumption, with the European Union banning the import of all Chinese milk-related products for children.
China has struggled to contain the crisis, and Premier Wen Jiabao vowed over the weekend to ensure the 'Made in China' brand was safe for consumers at home and abroad.
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