Big haul of fake Wonka Bars seized in London, UK

There has been another large seizure of counterfeit chocolate bars in the UK, this time in London, where £100,000-worth (around $123,000) of knock-off candy was seized from shops on the capital's Oxford Street shopping location.

Once again the offending goods were mainly Wonka Bars, which have been central to a number of recent law enforcement operations in the UK and other countries in the last couple of years.

Authorities have recently warned that counterfeit Wonka Bars may be unsafe to east, particularly for people with allergies.

Genuine Wonka bars were originally manufactured by Swiss food giant Nestle – but were discontinued more than a decade ago because sales were poor. The brand is now owned by Ferrero Rocher, which was acquired by Nestle in 2018, but it does not currently sell Wonka products.

Any Wonka-branded chocolate which does not feature the official 'Ferrero' or 'Ferrara Candy Company' trademarks on the label is likely to be a counterfeit product and there is no way to know if it is safe to eat, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

"Any members of the public who have bought or spot counterfeit Wonka Bars on shelves or online are advised to raise the issue with the retailer and report the matter to their local authority so that action can be taken."

Trading Standards officers seized the 2,246 fake Wonka bars from American sweet shops on Oxford Street, and Westminster Council said the haul was "just the tip of iceberg when it comes to counterfeit and unsafe goods being sold in the West End."

Commenting on the enforcement action, Council leader Adam Hug said: "We need landlords to take responsibility about who they let to…and greater transparency in company ownership."

The operation also uncovered 2,838 disposable vapes, some of which were counterfeit and some which were unauthorised, with excessive nicotine levels and tank sizes above the legal limit, 223 toys with no safety labels, and nearly 1,400 fake mobile phone covers.

In April, a business owner trading in Barnsley, UK, received a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to selling counterfeit Wonka Bars.