Warning: Salmonella Found in Telma Cornflakes

Consumer Trust Crisis at Telma: Recently, the media approached Telma multiple times due to information received about a serious malfunction in the company's production line, which was found to contain the dangerous Salmonella bacteria.

In response, Telma quickly denied the details, even explaining the shortage of products in stores and on shelves to the retail chains by stating there is 'overwhelming demand for the product.'

The information was also hidden from the Ministry of Health, but only after it was definitively discovered and published in the media did Telma provide an initial report on the malfunction to the Ministry. After an investigation by the Ministry of Health, it was confirmed that the serious malfunction indeed stemmed from the presence of Salmonella bacteria.

Subsequently, Telma issued a formal statement to consumers about the issue, saying: 'Following inquiries from the media and due to the resulting confusion, we wish to clarify that during our company's internal quality control, secondary contamination was found in one production line at the cereal plant, causing a small number of products not to meet our stringent microbial standards. Hence, we proactively decided not to market these products.'

Additionally, the company claimed that the contamination was discovered thanks to regular quality control checks carried out on every production line at the company's plants, every few hours. Thus, even boxes that were already shipped for sale and are on store shelves are entirely safe to use, and the company has no intention of recalling the products from the shelves, nor do customers need to return purchas ed products.

Upon learning about the contamination, the Ministry of Health became involved and is expected to oversee the destruction process of the contaminated products, estimated to be in the tens of thousands. A company employee told Ynet yesterday, 'From what we know, this involves massive quantities. We are being kept out of the loop and not told all the details.'

After the purification process, which will likely take several days, the plant in Arad is expected to return to normal operations.

In response to this, many consumer voices expressed anger this morning over the company's conduct and the decision to conceal the dangerous information from the public's view, particularly flooding the company's Facebook page, given that the main target audience of the company is small children.

One of them, a mother, wondered if the overly hard texture of the cornflakes found at her home was related to the contamination. The company answered her, 'All the products available at sales points and sold so far (and therefore all the Telma cereals at your home) have passed our rigorous inspections and are 100% safe to use. Consumer safety is paramount, and we do not compromise on this matter.'

Furthermore, retail chains report a simultaneous shortage of cereal types such as Cocomon, Shugi, Kariot, Ougi, and Branflakes, the cause of which, in relation to the aforementioned issue, is unclear.

So while it is not yet clear how safe Telma's cornflakes are to use, what is certainly clear is that Telma is currently suffering from a serious loss of public trust, which it will need to find a way to rebuild.