After Hetq reported that Foodwatch, a German food watchdog group had called for the recall of Kinder chocolate bars after testing positive for containing a possible carcinogen, Armenia’s State Food Safety Service says it is following developments in the matter.

Ferrero has defended the quantities of “likely carcinogens” in their chocolate, saying the substances exist “everywhere in the environment”.

Foodwatch says that after testing twenty products, ranging from potato chips to chocolate bars, it found that three contained “dangerous” levels of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOAH).

Defending their actions, Ferrero says, “Traces of mineral oil exist nearly everywhere in the environment and they can be transferred to food in many different ways."

The possibly dangerous substance can be transferred to the chocolate from the inks on its wrapping.

Ferrero says, “We are working on technical solutions to minimize” the presence of MOAHs.