IRELAND’S FOOD SAFETY watchdog has ordered a recall of several batches of Haagen-Dazs ice cream products due to the detection of a chemical that is banned in foods in the EU.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has said that various batches of four flavours of the ice cream have to be pulled from shelves – Belgian milk chocolate, cookies and cream, pralines and cream and Belgian chocolate and strawberry crunch.

The best before dates of affected batches can be found here.

The implicated batches are being recalled due to the detection of 2-chloroethanol in one of the ingredients used in their manufacture. 2-Chloroethanol is a recognised reaction product of ethylene oxide, which is a chemical used as a pesticide or sterilising agent.

It is classified as a mutagen, carcinogen and reproductive toxicant by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and has been banned in the EU since 1981.

It is approved for use by other countries outside the EU, however.

Although the consumption of the contaminated batches does not pose an acute risk to health, the impacts of acute, long-term ethylene oxide consumption include an increased risk of cancers of the white blood cells, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma, and lymphocytic leukaemia.

Long-term exposure to ethylene oxide also increases the risk of breast cancer in females.

Point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in stores supplied with the implicated batches.

Last year, the FSAI recalled over 40 food products contaminated with ethylene oxide – and said items will continue to be removed from shop shelves ‘for some time’.