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Product recall Published Updated once · 11 July 2018 FSA-PRIN-27-2018

Consumers advised about Rolkem cake decoration products

This recall applies to everyone who bought the product

The FSA has said the product may be unsafe to eat. Check the details below against your pack.

Check your pack

ROLKEM (all food products such as cake craft dyes, pigments and dusts)

Pack size: All sizes
Batch code
All batch codes
Lot number
All lot numbers
Use by
All dates
Best before
All dates

For at least one product, all date codes are affected. Check every pack you have.

What to do

Advice from the FSA notice:

  1. If you have bought any of the above products, do not use or consume them or use them in products for consumption by others.
  2. The FSA and FSS have advised local authorities with specialist cake decorating suppliers in their areas to visit these businesses to determine whether the premises hold any products supplied by Rolkem and withdraw them from sale.
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Why it was recalled

The FSA's risk statement:

High levels of copper

Due to the high concentration of copper, nausea, vomiting and/or abdominal pain are possible short-term effects from consumption of food items decorated with this product.

These products are unlikely to be consumed in such levels as to cause any serious risk to health.

However, we have some concerns that products may contain high levels of heavy metals, contain unapproved non-food pigments and/or other unapproved ingredients.

It has not been possible to confirm the ingredients of a number of Rolkem products therefore the risk to consumers cannot be established.

Details from the notice

Consumers should be aware that a Food Business Operator (FBO) based in South Africa, Rolkem 'Expressions in Colour' has been producing a range of products for use in cakes and confectionary for which they have failed to provide assurances of product safety.

Two products were previously recalled due to elevated levels of copper (details can be found in FSA-PRIN-27-2108 issued on 11 May 2018). Since that recall, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have made concerted efforts to ascertain an accurate understanding of the Rolkem products range and requested a number of ingredient details from Rolkem to confirm their suitability for use in food. This information has not been provided.

Following recent efforts to contact the FBO, to which we have received no satisfactory response, we have taken the decision to issue this Food Alert for Action to local authorities for the full Rolkem food range.

A Product Recall Information Notice tells the public about food that is unsafe and is being removed from sale.

What the business is doing

Fabricake Sugarcraft Limited is recalling the above products. Point of sale notices will be displayed in all retail stores that are selling these products. These notices explain to customers why the products are being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the products. Please see the attached notice.

Updates to this recall

  1. · FSA-PRIN-27-2018
    Original alert: Fabricake Sugarcraft Limited recalls Rolkem’s Special Rose Gold and Super Gold due to high levels of metal
  2. · FSA-FAFA-01-2018
    Update 1: Consumers advised about Rolkem cake decoration products
    • Added product: ROLKEM (all food products such as cake craft dyes, pigments and dusts)
    • Removed 2 products: Rolkem Special Rose Gold; Rolkem Super Gold
    • New batch or date details: batch All batch codes; lot All lot numbers; use by All dates
    • Advice to consumers was updated

How this recall compares

  • Metal has caused 62 UK food recalls since 2018, most often in fruit and vegetables, followed by bread and bakery. All metal recalls

Counts from FSA and FSS alerts since January 2018.