A criminal investigation has been launched into suspected product tampering after the discovery of a battery inside a hollow milk chocolate Easter bunny sold at the Co-op.
The retailer has withdrawn the bunnies, which retail for £1 each, from sale in all 2,800 Co-op stores and has asked customers who bought any of the 3,000 already sold to return them. The German-manufactured confectionery are not Co-op branded.
The National Crime Agency, which deals with food tampering, and police forces, including Nottinghamshire police, are helping with the investigation into “alleged product tampering” in Nottingham, according to Co-op.
It is the second alleged “tampering” incident involving Co-op chocolate products in six weeks. There was a national recall of chocolate Santas just before Christmas after batteries were found inside two of them.
“The health and safety of our customers is uppermost in our minds,” said a spokesperson for the retailer. “We are concerned about one incident of alleged product tampering involving our hollow milk chocolate Easter bunny foil figure, which has been found to contain a small battery inside.
“This follows an incident at Christmas when two similar products were targeted and contaminated. As a precaution, we have begun a UK-wide product recall and have withdrawn the product from sale.
“Customers with one of these products should not eat it, but take the product back to store for a full refund.”
The investigation was sparked after Tammy-Louise Dundon, from Bulwell in Nottinghamshire, bought one of the bunnies for her three-year-old daughter, Sophia Wood.
She told the Nottingham Post that her child had already bitten the ears off the rabbit, when she found a single-cell battery, similar to those found in hearing aids, inside the hollow the confectionary.
Dundon said: “I was just like: ‘Oh my God!’ How much damage do these batteries do? I’ve heard kids have died from eating them. They can get stuck in the oesophagus or can be corrosive.”
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire police refused to give more details on the criminal investigation, saying: “We are aware of the reports and enquiries are ongoing.”
The Food Standards Agency has also been notified and is assisting with the inquiry.
Anyone who is concerned is urged to call the Co-op’s customer services on Freephone 0800 0686 727.
