Mouldy chocolates given as gift - would you contact the maker to tell them?

[BoobsOnTheMoon]

We were given a lovely looking box of handmade truffles by a very kind elderly relative. They have come from a very small independent maker local to said relative, who posted them to us last week.

DP just bit into one and it was green with mould all the way through (pic attached, absolutely definitely mould!)

They have no best before date and no ingredients list, but they're a Christmas themed box (mini Christmas pudding shapes etc) so I feel like they should have lasted at least until Christmas! The maker has a FB page and a very basic website but tbh I'm concerned that they're not sticking to food safety rules already with the lack of labelling, so who knows what they're doing food hygiene wise...

Would you bother contacting the maker to show them the mould and suggest they check their making process or adding best before dates? I really don't want to tell the relative who sent them as they will feel terrible and embarrassed about it and it's hardly their fault!

X post. Prepacked selection = needs allergen, ingredients and storage info.

IF they have been regifted from a while ago or not, I'd still have to tell the relative (as innocently and politely as possible) because they may do similar again/not consider carefully checking what's suitable for ambient postage.

This. We had a relative famous for this.

The OP has already explained why this is not the case here.

It looks exactly like mould.

No way of knowing if they're made with fresh cream as no ingredients list!

Is this legal?

It’s obviously mould- or certainly it looks it to me.

there are two courses of action really. One is contact the company to say you have received the box and the chocolates are mouldy as as there are no details on the box you are unable to work out why. You look forward to their response.
the second is environmental health.

during lockdown we had a load of local families set up small businesses selling food. One particular was extremely popular but was astonished when someone reported the fact that they had none of the appropriate licences. There were many furious Facebook posts about busy bodies.

I would ask relative when they bought and how they are stored, then if appropriate contact the food standards agency and let them investigate.

How disappointing! When I first saw your post I thought it might be the milky film chocolates develop after a while but that is definitely mould!

Yes, it's all annoying red tape until someone close to them ends up in hospital with food poisoning/allergic reaction and then there's outrage because 'somebody' should have prevented this ...

That's awful, OP. I would contact the food standards agency
www.food.gov.uk/contact/consumers/report-problem/report-a-food-safety-or-hygiene-issue

I'm probably going OTT but a bit of me would be tempted to contact Environmental Health. I'm assuming they are 'home made' in someone's kitchen.

You have no idea how clean the kitchen is, you have no idea the ingredients or the allergy risks.
And it's illegal not to have a BBE date.

That's nightmarish

That's my thoughts exactly. I wouldn't say anything to relative and the business is likely to ignore / brush under the table.

Contact the relevant people.

I would put them in the bin and think no more about it.

I’d contact the business directly first and give them an opportunity to explain and put things right. If the relative likely bought them at a Christmas market type place it could be there were signs on the stall to keep them refrigerated and eat within a week etc, or that this was said verbally and the relative missed them or didn’t hear.

I imagine the business owner will be mortified! Going to environmental health etc would be a fallback option if the business doesn’t apologise, explain and put improvements in place. I imagine it’d put them out of business.

I would contact the seller and explain they were a gift. I’d also tell the elderly relative what happened and what the sellers response was. If they do the right thing and replace the box or send a refund, you can let the giver know it’s all resolved but to be aware for the future. If the vendor refuses to take responsibility I’d also want the giver to know that, purely so they don’t buy from them again and their own/someone else’s health.

It’s awkward to tell the giver, but I think important. I wouldn’t do it until there was a resolution though, as I wouldn’t want them to have the pressure of trying to contact the seller etc if they are elderly.

Can I clear up was it the seller or relative who posted them to you? Either way I would be contacting the seller. It is unclear whether they should be kept in the fridge or not. Also should have the list of ingredients rather than just the flavours.

Awkward though it isn’t I think you have to tell the giver in case Thebes given the same to anyone else.

Then definitely report to the local council. I wouldn’t bother informing the maker.

I think I would be inclined to do that too TBH.

You wouldn't want to highlight an issue that could be quite dangerous for someone that could be done in no time at all by sending a couple of emails

Are you really that selfish?

I'd definitely flag it with the company but not to the relative- it would be embarrassing.

I wouldn’t want to unless I knew all the facts. And that would involve quizzing elderly relatives about how they’d stored a present or whether they’d noticed any signs on a market stall then I’d be thinking twice.

I agree with others saying to contact environmental health. They might not be following the correct procedures or have the appropriate licenses.

I would explain that the choclates were mouldy and ask what ingredient info and storage instructions would have been given the to buyer. Information gathering first without accusing