OFFICIALS have ordered the immediate withdrawel of a certain brand of cookies that may be tainted with poisoned milk.

Businesses and consumers are being warned not to sell or eat the contaminated biscuits but to return them immediately.

Certain varieties of Koala brand biscuits, which are manufactured in China by Lotte China Foods Co.and istributed in the UK by a Dutch company, Liroy, have been found to contain melamine.

The products being withdrawn are all batch codes of:
Koala Chocolate Cookies 49g
Koala Strawberry Cookies 49g
Koala Yummie Cookies Chestnut 49g
Koala Melon Cookies 49g

The affected biscuits were found to contain levels of melamine up to 4.98mg/kg.

Although they are unlikely to be a risk to health, the European Commission recently declared that any products from China containing more than 15% milk as an ingredient, or where the percentage of milk cannot be established, must be subjected to certain checks to determine whether melamine levels exceed 2.5mg/kg. Where they do, the affected products will be destroyed.

Beds County Council community spokesman, Councillor Peter Hollick, said:"We are advising local businesses not to place on the market any of these products which have been found to contain excess levels of melamine.

"If such products have already left their possession they should contact their Trading Standards or Environmental Health Service and initiate withdrawal or recall procedures.

"Customers who have bought affected biscuits should return them to the store for a refund.

"As ever, we are working together with our environmental health colleagues to both assist local businesses in protecting the health of our local communities and keeping members of the public informed of the latest food safety issues."

Call any of the numbers below for more advice:

08454 040506 - Bedfordshire County Council's Trading Standards/Consumer Direct
08458 496103 - South Bedfordshire District Council's Environmental Health
08452 304040 - Mid Beds District Council's Environmental Health
01234 267422 - Bedford Borough Council's Environmental Health