Snail ‘n’ beans: Tnuva apologizes for animal parts in food, suspends production
Health Ministry conducts surprise search of factory after mouse, snake and snail parts found in packages of frozen green beans
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Food manufacturing giant Tnuva apologized to customers Monday, after animal parts were found in their frozen vegetable products on several occasions recently.
Tnuva also announced that production of its “Sunfrost” green beans would be paused, and that it would ensure that all its green bean sitting on the shelves of grocery stores would be recalled.
For the inconvenience, Tnuva said it would issue a “double refund” to all customers who have already purchased Sunfrost green beans.
In a statement, Tnuva CEO Eyal Melis said, “We apologize to customers and clients and take full responsibility. The company apologizes for the inconvenience caused to customers.”
Melis said Tnuva will bring in overseas quality-control experts, the first of whom will arrive this week, to help the company reorganize its procedures and ensure incidents do not recur.
On Monday, the Health Ministry conducted unannounced inspections at Tnuva’s factory.
The inspection focused on the production and packing processes, as well as documentation.
In a statement, the Health Ministry said “as a result of the inspection we found areas for improvement throughout the entire production chain, which have been forwarded to the factory in writing.
“We note that the events are still under investigation and the factory will be assisted by a number of experts to formulate renewed production processes, checks and quality assurance,” it said.
Earlier this month, a customer found the a mouse head in a packet of Sunfrost frozen green beans, and last week, parts of a snake and a dead snail were found in two separate incidents. However, Tnuva, Israel’s largest manufacturer, initially insisted on a narrow recall limited to products sharing a batch number.
According to a report in Channel 12, Tnuva only agreed to a wider recall after the Health Ministry issued a legal threat. Tnuva continues to insist that its products undergo sterilization and therefore remain safe to eat.
Customers who find anything untoward in their Tnuva frozen vegetable products or are eligible for a refund were encouraged to call the company’s customer service hotline at 1-800-282-844.
The Times of Israel Community.