“Dubai Chocolate” found to contain dangerous bacteria

A product sold under the Fix Dessert Chocolatier brand as “Dubai Chocolate” has been declared unsafe for consumption. This conclusion was reached by Uzbekistan’s Technical Regulation Oversight Inspection.

According to the report, inspectors conducted a test purchase and sent samples to the UzTest laboratory for analysis.

The inspection revealed the following violations of safety regulations:

• Excessively high levels of mesophilic aerobic and facultative anaerobic microorganisms (MAFAM), as well as yeast fungi;
• Presence of coliform bacteria (BGKP) and Salmonella in a 25g sample — both of which are strictly prohibited by sanitary regulations.

“These findings indicate a serious health risk and may lead, among other issues, to allergic diseases,” the agency stated.

The product also failed to meet labeling and appearance standards. In particular, several points of the General Technical Regulation on the Safety of Food Labeling were violated.