“We are gratified, although not surprised, by the Hong Kong government's results. They add to the overwhelming body of evidence that our high quality products are clear of melamine,” said Khaled Rabbani, Mars Incorporated Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs for Asia Pacific. “Consumers can be assured that they can continue to enjoy the Mars products they have loved for years.”

The new tests results announced by the Hong Kong authorities cast further doubt on the validity of the recent results announced by the Indonesian BPOM, which conflict with all analytical results received from governmental agencies and independent laboratories across Asia and Europe.

To date, food safety regulators in Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand have confirmed that Mars chocolate products are safe for consumption. In addition to government testing, an independent laboratory in Germany has tested numerous samples of milk powder used in Mars chocolate products made in China and that independent laboratory has confirmed the absence of any detectable levels of melamine.

Mars China does not source milk or other dairy ingredients for any of its products from any company which has been found to be selling melamine contaminated dairy products. Mars is very confident that none of its chocolate or confectionery products made in China include any dairy ingredients adulterated with melamine.

Under Hong Kong food safety regulations, the melamine content of the products tested may not exceed 2.5 parts per million. The European Food Safety Authority and many other countries apply the same standard.

[3 Oct 2008 06:09]

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