BERLIN: US chocolate maker Mars said Tuesday it's recalling candy bars and other items in 55 countries in Europe and elsewhere after plastic was found in one of its products.

Roel Govers, spokesman for Mars in the Netherlands, told The Associated Press that the recall affects 55 countries but would not provide further details, saying the company would email a news release later.

Mars in Germany confirmed that it was one of the countries affected, and said in a statement that the recall affected products with "best before" dates from June 19, 2016 to January 8, 2017.

"We have intentionally chosen a long production time frame in order to ensure that all possibly affected products are recalled," the company said in a German-language statement, adding that it was in "close contact" with food safety authorities.

It also did not specify which other countries were affected, and Mars in Germany did not respond to calls or emails. The German news agency dpa cited a Mars Germany spokesman saying the voluntary recall affects products made early this year in the Netherlands.

The Dutch food safety authority posted what it said was a Mars press release on its website, saying a piece of plastic had been found in a product that could lead to choking. It listed affected products as: Mars, Milky Way, Snickers, Celebrations, and Mini Mix.

Mars, Inc. is privately held and based in McLean, Virginia. It also owns the world's largest chewing gum maker, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.

The Mars family owns the secretive company, making it one of the wealthiest families in the US, according to business research company Hoover's.

Some famous precedents

The European horsemeat scandal

In February 2013 a major scandal stretching across the European continent was triggered by the discovery that horsemeat was being passed off as beef in burgers and other meat products.

Several brands of meatballs, sausages, frozen burgers and ready meals like pasta were pulled from supermarket shelves by the millions by firms including Findus, Iglo, Ikea, Nestle, Panzani and Picard.

According to the French authorities, more than 4.5 million fraudulent products were supplied in 13 European countries to at least 28 companies.

A Dutch wholesaler, Willy Selten, suspected of involvement in the enormous food scandal, was sentenced in the Netherlands in April 2015 to two and a half years in prison.

Coca-Cola's biggest ever recall -

In June, 1999 several countries withdrew soft drinks made by US-based beverage giant Coca-Cola after around 100 people fell ill in Europe after drinking its products.

The drinks were subject to a blanket recall for several days in Belgium and Luxembourg, and partially withdrawn in the Netherlands and France.

The cause of the sickness was discovered: bad quality carbonic gas used in a Belgian factory and fungicide employed to treat wooden pallets in a French factory.

The company, criticised for poor management of the incident, admitted responsibility.

Perrier

In February 1990 mineral water icon Perrier voluntarily recalled its entire inventory of bottled mineral water from store shelves throughout the world -- some 160 million bottles -- after tests showed the presence of the chemical benzene in some bottles in the United States and Britain.

The group said that human error -- the use of a benzene-based product to remove grease from a bottling chain machine -- was to blame.

Only several weeks later did Perrier start supplying its distributors again and the company, whose product is sold in little pear-shaped green bottles, had difficulty in restoring its reputation, especially in the United States.

Perrier and the US Food and Drug And Drug Administration stressed that the amount of benzene -- which can cause cancer in people and animals -- was of no immediate threat to health.