The Ministry of Commerce has released a statement warning that an imported brand of chocolate cake now on the local market is suspected of containing harmful bacteria.

According to the statement, obtained yesterday and issued by Camcontrol, Britain’s standards agency in August announced the precautionary recall of a batch of Endulge Chocolate Bread Wafers by its UK-manufacturer, Atkins International BV, following doubts that the product contained salmonella.

Camcontrol appealed to the public not to consume the product and to cooperate with authorities to provide information if they spotted it on the market.

Import businesses and retailers were called on to cease any deliveries or sales of the product, “to protect the health of residents”.

Phnom Penh retailers reported that they had not come across the wafers, but had been notified of the recall and would respond accordingly.

“My stall did not have this kind of chocolate,” said Yorm Chan, a seller in O’Russey market. “But I have appealed to Camcontrol officials to promote this information to all sellers, because sometimes they are not aware of it.”

An earlier scare around the contamination of imported packaged foods last December, in which a 6-year-old girl died in a suspected food-poisoning incident, raised questions about the absence of clearly defined food regulation in Cambodia.