Mars says sorry for animal products in chocolate

May 21, 2007

Sun May 20, 9:56 AM ET

Chocolate maker Mars apologised on Sunday for a widely mocked

decision to use animal products in chocolate bars and said in future

its candy would be suitable for vegetarians.

The company said it was reversing a decision announced last week to

change its chocolate recipe to include trace amounts of rennet, a

natural enzyme produced from the stomachs of calves which is used in

traditional cheese and chocolate making.

That recipe change had infuriated vegetarian campaigners. Forty

members of parliament signed a protest petition, and the media was

bemused. The Independent newspaper called it a " truly cruel but

funny prank played by the universe on vegetarians " .

The company did its best to sound contrite.

" It became very clear, very quickly, that we had made a mistake, for

which I am sorry, " Fiona Dawson, managing director of the Mars snack

food business in Britain, said in a statement.

" There are 3 million vegetarians in the UK and not only did we

disappoint them but we upset lots of other consumers, " she said. " We

have listened to their views and have decided to reverse our

decision. "

The statement acknowledged the protests from politicians and said

Mars had been " swamped " by more than 6,000 calls and e-mails in the

days following the announcement.

" We took the original decision in order to broaden our supply base

to ensure the availability of our supply, but we underestimated the

impact this would have, " Dawson said.

" I personally commit to make sure that the products we changed will

be suitable for vegetarians again in the near future. "

ocolate

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