Batches of a popular snack sold in Ireland have been urgently recalled after food safety chiefs found they contained “elevated levels” of a chemical that can cause cancer.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland issued a warning about various brands of popcorn kernels on Monday.
Certain batches were found to contain “elevated levels of aflatoxin” which can cause dangerous health effects in humans.
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This includes cancer, kidney and liver damage, gastrointestinal disturbances, reproductive disorders and suppression of the immune system.
A spokesperson explained: “Aflatoxin is one of a group of naturally occurring chemicals (mycotoxins) produced by certain moulds. They can grow on a variety of different crops and foodstuffs, often under warm and humid conditions.
“Mycotoxins can cause a variety of adverse health effects in humans including cancer (some are genotoxic), kidney and liver damage, gastrointestinal disturbances, reproductive disorders, or suppression of the immune system. Mycotoxins are naturally occurring, so their presence in foods cannot be completely avoided.”
The affected products are True Natural Goodness Popcorn Organic, Pax Whole Foods and Eco Goods Organic Popcorn Kernels, Your Orgnic Nature Pofmai’s Mafmais Scouffle and Ekoplaza Pofmais.
The recall is for certain batches of the products which have various pack sizes and best before dates that you can check below.
Consumers are advised not to eat the implicated batches, while retailers are requested to remove the affected products from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale in stores supplied with them.
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