Food Alert
Food Alert For Action: Consumers who have purchased and Food Businesses who have purchased and sold Jolly Rancher products manufactured by The Hershey Company
England, Northern Ireland and Wales specific
Food Alert For Action: Consumers who have purchased and businesses who have sold Jolly Rancher Confectionery Products
Jolly Rancher products listed below contain Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons, (MOAH), and Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons, (MOSH), making them unsafe to eat and not compliant with UK laws.
Food businesses who import these products are advised to discontinue import and distribution of products.
Food businesses selling these products in the UK are advised to immediately stop sales, undertake product withdrawals and where there have been retail sales, to undertake product recalls. This is because the products are unsafe and do not meet UK market legal requirements. The Hershey Company, who is the brand owner, has taken action to remove these products from the UK market.
The Hershey Company has continued to work collaboratively with the FSA, and despite their proactive action to remove non-compliant and unsafe products from UK markets in 2024, and their subsequent decision not to supply the UK market going forward, other businesses continue to import their product for the UK market. The FSA has therefore requested enforcing authorities in the UK to take action to remove products, to protect consumers.
For consumers, don’t buy them, and if you’ve eaten these products, there should be no immediate cause for concern, as food safety risk is low, but don’t eat any more. These products contain mineral oil, which isn’t allowed in food in the UK and may pose a food safety risk if consumed regularly over a sustained period of time.
Product details
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Risk statement
Although the levels consumers are exposed to are likely to be low, they may present a risk to health because they contain Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons, (MOAH), and Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons, (MOSH). Consumption of the affected sweets is of toxicological concern, especially in younger age groups and where consumers eat a lot of the products or eat them regularly.
MOAH can cause damage to DNA and has the potential to increase the risk of cancer, particularly if consumed in high quantities over a prolonged period of time. MOAH is a genotoxic carcinogen, therefore no exposure is without risk to human health.
Action taken by the company
We are asking enforcement authorities to make immediate contact with businesses who may have been supplied with or received the affected products, and to take action to ensure that the non-compliant and potentially unsafe products are withdrawn from the market and where sold at retail, recalled. We are also asking the Local Authorities to inform the FSA of product recall and withdrawal actions.
Our advice to consumers
If you have bought any of the above products, do not eat them. Instead, dispose of them at home. If you are concerned, notify your Trading Standards department or environmental health department in the local authority you purchased it.
About product recalls and withdrawals
If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be 'withdrawn' (taken off the shelves) or 'recalled' (when customers are asked to return the product). The FSA issues Product Recall Information Notices to let consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food. In some cases, a 'Food Alert for Action' is issued. This provides local authorities with details of specific action to be taken on behalf of consumers.
Ref: FSA-FAFA-02-2025