With reporting from Lesley Walker/Updated on Feb. 25 with comment from Ministry of Public Health

US-based chocolate maker Mars has issued a massive international recall of chocolate products after plastic pieces were found in a Snickers bar last month.

A customer in Germany complained about the red pieces to the company, which traced the chocolate back to a Mars factory in the town of Veghel in the Netherlands.

Chocolate from that factory appears to be sold by some supermarkets in Qatar, including Monoprix.

The plastic was apparently from a protective cover used in the manufacturing process, and the company has made the recall voluntarily, saying there could be a choking hazard.

“We cannot be sure that this plastic was only in that particular Snickers,” a spokeswoman from Mars Netherlands said, according to the Guardian. “We do not want any products on the market that may not meet our quality requirements, so we decided to take them all back.”

In a statement, Mars Middle East said the recall involves a selection of Snickers, Mars, Milky Way and Celebrations chocolates made in the Netherlands from Dec. 5, 2015 to Jan. 18, 2016.

Qatar chocolate

Mars chocolate appeared to remain on the shelves of many supermarkets in Qatar this morning, and many representatives said they were unaware of a recall.

Qatar’s public health authority has yet to comment.

UPDATED: In a statement on Wednesday night, the Ministry of Public Health said that Qatar is free from the chocolate in question, adding that some 100 cartons of Dutch-made chocolate was imported here but stopped from being distributed in the market.

According to the Peninsula, most Mars chocolate is made in Dubai.

However, Mars has advised all consumers to check their candy labels, especially if the chocolate was bought from a duty-free outlet.

And at French supermarket Monoprix in West Bay, at least some of the candy sold, including the smaller-sized Mars bars, were labeled as products of the Netherlands.

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