Hershey’s Responds to Salmonella Contamination
Hershey’s, the North American candy maker, have named soy lecithen as the cause of the Salmonella scare that led to a plant closure and recall of 25 products. Soy lecithin is an emulsifying agent used to help chocolate flow during the manufacturing process. The salmonella was picked up during a routine manufacturing quality check at the company's plant in Smiths Falls, Ontario.
The ingredient was revealed by the company and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), after a week of intense scrutiny over the secrecy surrounding the outbreak. However, the company and CFIA still refuse to reveal the supplier of the contaminated ingredient. Hershey's also refused to divulge at what stage of ingredient manufacture, transportation or use the salmonella contamination occurred. Neither Canadian nor US food regulations require manufacturers or regulators to reveal the source of contamination, or the supplier, if the ingredient was externally sourced.