The governments of Malta and Ireland have ordered the recall of several variants of Monde Nissin’s Lucky Me! instant noodles for supposedly having high levels of pesticide.
In separate advisories, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and Malta’s Department of Information issued a product recall against the Lucky Me! Pancit Canton original, hot chili, calamansi and chilimansi flavors as well as its Beef na Beef instant mami packs manufactured in Thailand.
“The above batch of Lucky Me! Instant Pancit Canton Noodles Original Flavour is being recalled due to the presence of the unauthorised pesticide ethylene oxide. This pesticide is not authorised for use in foods sold in the EU,” the Irish authorities said.
“Although the consumption of the contaminated product does not pose an acute risk to health, there may be health issues if there is continued consumption of ethylene oxide over a long period of time. Therefore, exposure to this substance needs to be minimised,” it added. “Point-of-sale recall notices will be displayed in stores supplied with the implicated batch.”
Lucky Me! is one of the most popular brands under bilyonaryo Betty Ang’s Monde Nissin food and beverage empire. A 2020 study by Nielsen showed that the company led retail sales value in the Philippines in the categories of instant noodles, biscuits, oyster sauce and yogurt drinks.