Quote:

---

The largest employer in Smiths Falls has been idled after a salmonella scare at the Hershey factory.

A number of Hershey chocolate products, including some of the company's best-sellers, have been recalled and the production line shut down after internal testing revealed the presence of the bacteria in the product.

There have been no reported illnesses among people who have eaten the affected chocolate, which includes chocolate chips, Oh Henry! bars, Reese Peanut Butter Cups, and Glosettes, a Hershey spokeswoman told the Whig yesterday from corporate headquarters in Pennsylvania. None of the recalled products was produced for Halloween or Christmas products and Stephanie Moritz said the company notified the Canadian Food Inspection Agency when it discovered the contamination. Hershey is working closely with the federal agency, she said.

She said the contamination appears to have come from an ingredient from an outside supplier and did not originate from the plant itself.
The plant was shut down Friday when the salmonella was discovered.

"It was an externally sourced ingredient, and it was an extremely minor ingredient in the manufacture of chocolate," she said yesterday.

The food inspection agency said that most of the affected product, manufactured between Oct. 15 and Nov. 10, had not yet been delivered to stores.

"The majority of the product is still in their distribution system, in their warehouses and at their facility, there has been a limited amount of product that has been released," said Garfield Balsom, a CFIA spokesman.

Moritz said while the contamination is being investigated, the factory has been shut and the production lines cleaned and sterilized.

She was not sure when the factory might begin production again.

"Our goal is to reopen as soon as possible," she said.

The recalled chocolate and candy can be identified by date codes found on the back of each package. The affected date codes range from 6417 to 6455.

The plant employs more than 620 people and draws thousands of visitors to the town, which calls itself Chocolatetown Canada, for tours of the factory.

The plant opened in June 1963 and produces 45,000 kilograms of chocolate a year.

Consumers who have purchased the items in question can contact Hershey at 1-800-468-1714.

The affected products are:

• Chipits Milk Chocolate Chips (270 grams).
  
  
• Hershey Creamy Milk Chocolate with Almonds (43 grams).
  
  
• Hershey Creamy Milk Chocolate (45 grams).
  
  
• Oh Henry! bar (62.5 grams, 62.5g/ four bars, 145 grams).
  
  
• Oh Henry! Bites (130 grams).
  
  
• Oh Henry! Bites (60 grams).
  
  
• Hershey Chipits Semi-Sweet (350 grams).
  
  
• Hershey Chocolate Chips (2 kgs).
  
  
• Hershey Chipits Mini (300 grams).
  
  
• Hershey Chocolate Chips (10 kgs, 175 grams, 500 grams).
  
  
• Hershey Chipits Chocolate Chip Bulk (10 kgs).
  
  
• Hershey Chipits Semi-Sweet Mint Chocolate Chips (300 grams).
  
  
• Hershey Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (300 grams).
  
  
• Hershey's's Special Dark Chocolate (45 grams).
  
  
• Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate with Almonds (43 grams).
  
  
• Reese Peanut Butter Cups (51 grams, 68 grams, 51 grams/4 bars).
  
  
• Lowney Cherry Blossom (45 grams).
  
  
• Glosette Peanuts (45 grams).
  
  
• Glosette Almond (42 grams).
  
  
• Glosette Raisin (50 grams, 145 grams).
  
  
• Hershey's Chocolate Shell Topping (177 ml).
  
  
• Eat-More Dark Toffee Peanut Chew (56 grams, 56 grams/4 bars).
  
  
• Lowney Bridge Mix (52 grams, 340 grams).
  
  
• Hershey Assorted 16 count (728 grams).
  
  
• Hershey Assorted (50 count - 2.5 kg).
  
  
• Nut Roll (5 kgs).
  
  
• Hershey Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip (10 kgs).

If you buy these products please pay close attention to the production date!

Quote:

---

Funny ablesentinel. Perhaps it would work better as a diet aid.

---