Popular chocolate treat urgently recalled by John Lewis over fears it contains shards of glass
A POPULAR chocolate treat has been urgently recalled because it may contain shards of glass.
Hotel Chocolat Choose Your Poison has been taken off shelves at John Lewis, as well as the manufacturer’s high street and online stores.
The Halloween cocktail chocolates are thought to contain the “possible presence of glass”, according to the Food Standards Agency.
It “could cause harm if inadvertently consumed”, officials said.
An FSA spokesperson said: “Hotel Chocolat recalls Hotel Chocolat Choose Your Poison because it may contain pieces of glass.
“The possible presence of glass makes this product unsafe to eat.
“The affected product is sold at Hotel Chocolat stores, online and at John Lewis stores.”
The recalled products were sold between September 1 and 26 with lot numbers 23205, 23206 and 23207.
Lot numbers can be found on the packaging tag next to the best before end date.
They were sold in a glass flask with a cork stopper and have best before dates of January 2024.
The FSA said if you have bought the product, do not eat it.
A spokesperson said: “Instead, return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund.
“For further information contact Hotel Chocolat at help@hotelchocolat.com.”
Hotel Chocolate said: “We’re very sorry that it has been necessary to recall this product and for the inconvenience and concern caused.”
If you bought the product from John Lewis, you should speak with John Lewis directly, they said.
Swallowing sharp objects like glass can injure the teeth, mouth and oesophagus (food pipe), and is a choking risk, particularly for young children.
If fragments make it further into the body, this can puncture the intestines and cause internal bleeding in severe cases.
Choking happens when someone’s airway suddenly gets blocked, either fully or partly.
What to do if someone is choking
Mild choking
If the airway is only partly blocked, the person will usually be able to speak, cry, cough or breathe, and may be able to clear the blockage themselves.
In adults:
- Encourage them to keep coughing
- Ask them to try to spit out the object
- Don’t put your fingers in their mouth
- If coughing doesn’t work, start back blows
In children:
- If you can see the object, try to remove it (but don’t poke blindly)
- Encouraging coughing
- Shout for help if coughing isn’t effective or the child is silent
- Use back blows if the child is still conscious but not coughing
Severe choking
In adults:
Where choking is severe, the person won’t be able to speak, cry, cough or breathe.
Without help, they’ll eventually become unconscious, so you should carry out back blows.
In children:
Back blows can be carried out on children under one year.
If this doesn’t work, chest thrusts can be started on kids up to 12 months old, and abdominal thrusts on those over one year.
Call 999 if the blockage doesn’t come out after trying back blows and either chest or abdominal thrusts.
Keep trying this cycle until help arrives.
Even if the object has come out, get medical help. Part of the object might have been left behind, or the patient might have been hurt by the procedure.
Source: NHS