An urgent recall has been issued for two popular ice creams sold at Tesco and SuperValu stores across Ireland.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has issued a recall of ice cream products sold by two different brands due to the presence of an unauthorized pesticide.

Certain batches of Nestlé Milkybar Mini Multipack Ice Cream and Nuii Salted Caramel Ice Cream have been found to contain ethylene oxide.

This pesticide was identified in the food additive group locust gum (E410) used in the production of these ice creams.

Milkybar Mini Multipack and Nuii Salted Caramel ice cream are sold in many Irish supermarkets.

These include Tesco and SuperValu Stores across Ireland.

Locust bean gum is a food additive approved in the European Union and used as a thickener and stabilizer in a wide range of food products.

However, ethylene oxide is a pesticide that is not permitted for use in foods sold in the European Union but has been approved for use by other countries outside the European Union.

« Although the consumption of contaminated products does not pose an acute health risk, there is an increased risk if the consumption of ethylene oxide in contaminated foods continues over a long period of time, » the FSAI said.

For this reason, exposure to ethylene oxide should be minimized.

The Food Authority said point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in batch-provided stores involved in ice cream products.

Nestle Milky Bar Mini Multipack Ice Cream is sold in a box of six. The batch code for the affected products is MI1099 and the best date before is 04.2023.

Meanwhile, Nooyi salted caramel varieties are sold individually. The recalled products have batch code MI1115 and MI1114, with the best date also 04.2023.

It comes as FSAI has issued a product recall Batch of Italy Pesto alla Genovese Last week due to the presence of the same unauthorized pesticide ethylene oxide.

The product was recalled by Lidl due to the presence of ethylene oxide in a batch of food additives for the locust gum used in its production.