Oslo, Nov 5 - Glass particles have been found in Norwegian bread containing sunflower seeds from China, the country's food safety authority said on Monday.
The regulator said eight consumers in different regions of Norway found bits of finely ground glass in their bread before eating it and contacted their bakers. No one was hurt.
"All eight samples have one thing in common -- sunflower. The hypothesis is that the glass particles came from a batch of sunflower seeds imported from China," Roald Gulbrandsen, director of the food safety authority, told Reuters.
He said 110 bakers in Norway bought some of a suspect shipment of sunflower seeds, which had been recalled along with baked goods containing the seeds.
"We have to analyse the controller routines," Gulbrandsen said, adding that the Chinese exporter had sent a representative to Norway to discuss safety procedures.
The food safety authority said it had had no reports of any injuries caused by the glass, which was probably discovered by the consumers when they cut the bread. It told consumers to throw away bread bought between Oct. 17 and Oct. 31.
"These particles are not sharp, if you ate them, they would go through your body. But if you chew the glass particles they could harm your teeth or scar ... your mouth," Gulbrandsen said.