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Original poster

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

128 replies

BoobsOnTheMoon · 26/12/2022 11:50

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!

Mouldy chocolates given as gift - would you contact the maker to tell them?
OP posts:
gonutkin · 26/12/2022 21:01

Oh god that looks awful! Hope you get a reply soon and they can sort it out for you. I don't know if I'm just different but if I bought someone chocolates and they let me know that they were mouldy I wouldn't be offended at all but I would be grateful they let me know so I could deal with it with the company I bought from. If your relative isn't great with stuff like that though I think you've been right to get in touch with the company

Nimbostratus100 · 26/12/2022 21:05

JuneOsborne · 26/12/2022 12:15

Actually, I'd go to environmental health, the food safety team. Not so much because of the mould (horrible though it is) but because if they're pre packed for direct sale, they're breaching Natasha's law not listing the ingredients and therefore the allergens. And this could be fatal for someone.

agree, public health issue, go to the council of the place where they are based asap

Original poster
BoobsOnTheMoon · 26/12/2022 21:06

HanSB · 26/12/2022 20:59

I would tell your relative so that they don’t buy from this business again and can pass on info to anyone else they bought similar chocolates for as a gift. The business is likely someone who has opened up an amateur home business and hasn’t followed any food regulations. This can be dangerous and needs reporting to the local council’s environmental health department so they can check on the business. It also looks like there is a hair on the piece on the right at the top. I’m always dubious of these Facebook home food businesses as anyone can set one up without checks on hygiene etc.

Tbf the hair is probably from our cat, who seems to be able to get hair everywhere, even in rooms he doesn't go into!

OP posts:

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General food
MagnoliaMix · 26/12/2022 21:08

Of course you must contact the manufacturers. Seems to me it's the nicest thing to do, for their sake more than yours.

VerifiedBot2351 · 27/12/2022 12:33

Have you made contact?

Tippexy · 27/12/2022 12:38

VerifiedBot2351 · 27/12/2022 12:33

Have you made contact?

Nope, it’s not going to happen.

Sparklingbrook · 27/12/2022 12:39

VerifiedBot2351 · 27/12/2022 12:33

Have you made contact?

The OP posted-

I've emailed them a photo and asked if labels were missing. I'll report back when I get a reply!

Original poster
BoobsOnTheMoon · 27/12/2022 12:52

Tippexy · 27/12/2022 12:38

Nope, it’s not going to happen.

Show quote history

"Nope, it’s not going to happen."

On the subject of things that aren't going to happen, how about people reading the whole thread before blundering in to nark about something that's already been addressed some posts ago?!

As I said at 20.32 last night, I've emailed the maker with the mouldy photo. Unsurprisingly, I haven't had a reply yet and don't expect one until tomorrow at the earliest if ever

OP posts:
Onnabugeisha · 27/12/2022 12:55

JuneOsborne · 26/12/2022 12:15

Actually, I'd go to environmental health, the food safety team. Not so much because of the mould (horrible though it is) but because if they're pre packed for direct sale, they're breaching Natasha's law not listing the ingredients and therefore the allergens. And this could be fatal for someone.

Yea this is what you need to do. This screams of a cottage start up that doesn’t even have the proper licence to sell food items.

VerifiedBot2351 · 27/12/2022 13:21

Sorry, by asking if you’d made contact I meant both ways, as in got a reply. No need for people to get narky!

Sugarfree23 · 27/12/2022 13:25

I think it's a start-up business operating out a domestic kitchen.

A bit of me worries Environmental Health will go in all guns blazing and put them off completely.
But I also think they could be very helpful in getting the start-up set up on a more professional basis.

But ultimately they could make someone really ill or worse. Which I think trumps the start-ups right to trade dangerously.

Notlivinglife · 27/12/2022 13:26

Bin them! They look 😖 😱

PlaitBilledDuckyPuss · 27/12/2022 13:27

Notlivinglife · 27/12/2022 13:26

Bin them! They look 😖 😱

I don't think the OP was thinking of eating them Grin

Onnabugeisha · 27/12/2022 13:29

Notlivinglife · 27/12/2022 13:26

Bin them! They look 😖 😱

Don’t bin them or the packaging they came in. They’re evidence. They need to be photographed and taken in to environmental health at the council.

uncomfortablydumb53 · 27/12/2022 13:29

Just my opinion but I'm wondering as they're a new business if they have complied with environmental health regulations and are licensed.
I do hope they reply
Would you know if the relative had gifted any boxes to mutual relatives?

Whatthediddlyfeck · 27/12/2022 13:34

dontgobaconmyheart · 26/12/2022 12:21

Presumably if said maker has been producing chocolates in excess of a year and still has customers and no similar negative reviews floating around then I would imagine it's far more likely your relative has has them knocking about a while and regifted them. Maybe it was them that removed the labels or information that came with the parcel who knows.

I don't think it's that fair to contact a business you aren't even the customer of (so have no contract of sale with) with what are ultimately (quite offensive) assumptions about food safety and quality control, particularly if you planned to do it publically (social media).

If you want to go to anyone I'd make the relative the first port of call and request the receipt for the facts. I wonder if it would be mysteriously unavailable 😆

Ultimately if I wasn't sure, I wouldn't pursue it. The business has no obligation to discuss it with you if you weren't a the customer anyway. If they really did go mouldy in a couple of weeks of purchase then others also will have and will take action.

You couldn’t be more wrong if you tried 😂

I used to work in Food Safety, and the maker has breached so many aspects of the Food Safety Act (and umpteen other pieces of food safety legislation which have come along since I last worked in the area!)

The supplier is running a food business, with which comes massive responsibilities - get in touch with your local environmental health department, NOT the supplier

Whatthediddlyfeck · 27/12/2022 13:41

Sugarfree23 · 27/12/2022 13:25

I think it's a start-up business operating out a domestic kitchen.

A bit of me worries Environmental Health will go in all guns blazing and put them off completely.
But I also think they could be very helpful in getting the start-up set up on a more professional basis.

But ultimately they could make someone really ill or worse. Which I think trumps the start-ups right to trade dangerously.

There's nothing working with a business operating out of a domestic kitchen, but they have to be doing it legally! And that includes having public liability insurance. I agree that this massively trumps anything else. If a business start up can’t even get the basics of their set up correct, what else are they not bothering with?

ButterBastardBeans · 27/12/2022 13:45

I think the local environmental health needs to know about this. Not putting an ingredient list isn't legal.

Hoppinggreen · 27/12/2022 13:47

Seeline · 26/12/2022 12:22

If they are ones with fresh ingredients, maybe they should be kept in the fridge? But there should be storage instructions if this is the case!

I was about to say this, if they were made with fresh cream they should have been refrigerated

TwoMonthsOff · 27/12/2022 13:58

@BoobsOnTheMoon
That’s awful, are they all like that? Have you cut open the others for examination

Onnabugeisha · 27/12/2022 14:29

uncomfortablydumb53 · 27/12/2022 13:29

Just my opinion but I'm wondering as they're a new business if they have complied with environmental health regulations and are licensed.
I do hope they reply
Would you know if the relative had gifted any boxes to mutual relatives?

They’re not going to put in writing that they are unlicensed and operating in flagrant violation of numerous laws. I think contacting the supplier is a waste of time. I’d just be heading over to environmental health as soon as the offices open with the chocolates and packaging in hand, plus the research the OP did showing it is not possible that these are old chocolates from a prior year…

uncomfortablydumb53 · 27/12/2022 14:41

@Onnabugeisha
My post was possibly ambiguous and of course the poster should contact environmental health as they have breached food standards
I was referring to OP contacting the business

Original poster
BoobsOnTheMoon · 27/12/2022 14:53

I have just cut the remaining ones in half. Only one more was mouldy, it was the same sort as the original mouldy one (pic of mouldy choc #2 attached). The mould seems to be between where they've been rolled in chopped nuts and then coated in chocolate. The chocolate layer cracked off one half exposing a lovely furry mould layer. It's like they've tried to recreate a Ferrero Rocher but it's gone a bit wrong 🤣

I know nothing about chocolate making but suspect they've just made a one off error with this flavour as they are a fairly new business and their reviews are good on their FB page. Plus the rest were all fine and actually look and smell delicious but I'm not eating them now!

(PS no reply as yet, for those interested)

Mouldy chocolates given as gift - would you contact the maker to tell them?
OP posts:
HumourReplacementTherapy · 27/12/2022 19:13

Ooh yes, proper furry Envy

pocketvenuss · 27/12/2022 20:39

Looking online, the mould always grows between the ganache and chocolate shell just as yours has. It seems to be an age storage problem. They absolutely should have had it clearly marked on the packaging that they were to be refrigerated.