Hershey products pulled off Canadian shelves

Certain candy bars as well as chocolate chips for baking are among the products Hershey Canadais pulling off store shelves because of possible salmonella contamination.

Hershey Canada Inc. and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency released a list on Sunday of 25 recalled products.

Any foods tainted with salmonella may not look or smell spoiled, but the bacteria can cause symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

Hershey's recalledproducts can be identified by date codes— ranging from 6417 to 6455— found on the back of each package. They include:

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

No products produced for Halloween or Christmas are affected, said the company.

The contamination at the company's plant in Smiths Falls, Ont., is believed to be the result of an ingredient shipped in from an outside supplier. The plant was closedThursday eveningafter the salmonella was discovered.

"It’s a minor ingredient used in chocolate making. That's all I can share at this time,"Hershey spokesperson Stephanie Moritztold CBC Newsworld on Monday.

It's not clear how much of the affected chocolate, produced between Oct. 15 and Nov. 10, may have reached store shelves, said officials.

"There was a limited amount of product that was actually at retail level," said the CFIA's Garfield Balsom. "The majority of the product is being contained at distribution and warehouse levels."

Moritz said the contamination involved a limited number of products.

"Most of the product is already in our control or being retrieved from customers," she said.

Balsom wouldn't speculate about what may have caused the contamination, saying an investigation is ongoing.

"The salmonella could be introduced through various sources. The investigation needs to be focused and detailed in order for us to determine where this was introduced."

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of the candy or chocolate chips on the recall list, the company said.

Moritz said the discovery shows the company's quality and safety checks work.