DOHA: A massive international recall of Mars and Snickers chocolates bars made at its Dutch factory is not likely to hit stocks in Qatar say traders.

The recall was ordered by the US chocolate giant Mars after a piece of plastic found in one snack was traced back to the factory in the Netherlands.

Enquiries with a leading hypermarket here yesterday revealed that the Mars and Snickers bars sold in the outlet are not sourced from the Netherlands.

“ We are getting Mars chocolates from Dubai like most other outlets here” said a senior official of the hypermarket.

The recall applies to 55 countries where millions of chocolate bars were deemed possibly unsafe for consumption after a customer in Germany found a piece of red plastic in his Snickers bar last month.

The recall of the chocoholic snacks also affects Milky Way minis and some boxes of Celebrations and hit most European countries. But it also extended as far as Vietnam and Sri Lanka in Asia news agencies reported yesterday.

“As far as we know there are 55 countries involved” Eline Bijveld Mars corporate affairs coordinator for the Netherlands was quoted as saying.

The recall “only involves the products that are made in the Netherlands” at the Mars factory in the southern town of Veghel she said adding the products were mainly sold in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe.The Peninsula