TikTok viral Dubai chocolate urgently pulled from Queensland shelves
A hugely popular food that went viral on TikTok has been urgently recalled due to undeclared allergens.
All blocks of Dubai chocolate from Choco Bliss have been recalled from Choco Bliss stores in Queensland after the packaging failed to adequately declare allergens.
The chocolate went viral online earlier this year for its sweet and chewy kadayif and pistachio filling, inspired by desserts in the UAE.
However, the Choco Bliss product may have an undeclared presence of pistachio, milk, sesame seed and wheat, the Food Standards website warned.
'Any consumers who have a pistachio, milk, sesame seed or wheat allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed,' the recall read.
The recall impacts all Dubai chocolates with expiry dates dates up to and including January 2026.
'Consumers who have a pistachio, milk, sesame seed or wheat allergy or intolerance should not consume this product,' the recall read.
Shoppers can return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.
'Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice,' the recall read.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
7NEWS
4 hours ago
- 7NEWS
New study suggests calorie restriction may be linked to worsening depression
Going too far with a diet might have serious impacts on your mental health. Cutting your calories down too far could be linked with worse depression symptoms, new research suggests. A study published Tuesday in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health looked at data from more than 28,000 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which surveyed participants on their diet quality and depressive symptoms. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today People who followed a calorie-restrictive diet, particularly men and people with a body mass index considered overweight, were more likely to have higher symptoms of depression, according to the data. Quality of diet also mattered. People who reported a diet with more ultraprocessed foods, refined carbs, saturated fats, processed meats and sweets were more likely to report higher levels of depression and those who ate more of a Mediterranean-style diet generally had lower risk of depression, the study showed. 'The findings suggest caution with overly restrictive or unbalanced diets, particularly for people already experiencing weight-related stress or challenges,' lead study author Dr Venkat Bhat said. Bhat is a psychiatrist, clinician-researcher and director of the Interventional Psychiatry Program at St Michael's Hospital and University of Toronto. Instead, Bhat suggests 'opting for balanced, sustainable dietary changes that meet nutritional needs and consider individual psychological impacts may help minimise potential negative effects on mood'. A different finding from previous studies There are some limitations to consider when looking at the results. The design of the study can only show associations, not definitively say that calorie restriction causes an increase in depression symptoms, Bhat said. In addition, the study surveyed people on their dietary patterns, which leaves room for error, according to Dr Kary Woodruff, associate professor and director of the University of Utah nutrition and integrated physiology department's co-ordinated master's program. She was not involved in the research. 'I could think I am on a calorie-restricted diet when in fact I may be in a calorie surplus — there's no way to verify participant's calorie-restriction status,' Woodruff said. The study is large and controlled for other factors that could drive the associations found, but its findings contrast with those of previous studies around the topic of calorie restriction and depression, Bhat said. Other studies have found that calorie-restricted diets reduce depressive symptoms, King's College London post-doctoral researcher Dr Johanna Keeler said. She was also not involved in the study. One difference is that previous research, including a 2023 paper that Keeler co-authored, studied restrictive diets supervised by a medical professional. 'Therefore, these findings might reflect that unsupervised dieting, which can produce nutritional deficiencies, might not be good for depressive symptoms,' Keeler said. More research and randomised control trials may be needed to fully understand how dieting impacts mental health, Bhat said. When restriction might impact depression There are several reasons why the calorie restriction seen in the most recent study might be associated with a negative mental health impact. Previous studies, including Keeler's, found that low-calorie diets that resulted in weight loss for people classified as overweight or obese was associated with reduced depression symptoms. That could be because of physiological changes, improved physical mobility or increased positive social feedback, Keeler said. 'Embarking on a calorie-restricted diet without experiencing weight loss, or experiencing 'weight cycling' might not produce improvements in depression, and on top of that may be frustrating or disheartening to individuals, causing an increase in depression,' Keeler said. When calories are too restricted or not enough nutrients are being provided by a diet, there could be an interruption in physical processes that could lead to fatigue, sleep problems and difficulty concentrating, Keeler added. Extreme dieting patterns also are linked to increased anxiety and a higher risk for an eating disorder, Woodruff said. 'The key is to examine what — and how much — is being restricted. Focusing on following a healthful eating pattern that supports mild to moderate caloric restriction may improve depressive symptoms and mood, whereas extreme behaviours can exacerbate mental, emotional, and physical health,' she said. Finding balance How a person responds to a diet varies among individuals, and the results of the study highlight the need for personalised dietary recommendations and consideration of psychological factors in addition to physical health, Bhat said. With so much contrasting advice when it comes to nutrition and what's the best approach for your own nutrition, Keeler recommends input from a medical professional before starting any weight-loss efforts. Even if you want to lose weight, focusing too much on heavy calorie restriction might not be the most sustainable option, North Carolina dietitian Natalie Mokari said. Instead, she recommends small changes to move toward a more balanced lifestyle. Start by looking at your meals, Mokari said. Does your plate have a protein, carbohydrate, healthy fat, and some fibre and nutrients through fruits and vegetables? Try prioritising adding in the nutrition you need first, then see whether there are elements you don't need anymore, she said. Eating from all food groups and slowing down the pace of eating can also help prevent people from grabbing a second helping or a sweet treat after, Mokari said. 'Regardless of weight loss, improving dietary quality can significantly improve overall health and quality of life,' Woodruff said. 'Consider working with a registered dietitian to understand what a healthful dietary pattern can look like for you.'
News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Cheeky 12pm habit Aussies need to stop
A recent study has shown that napping during certain hours of the day could be associated with an increased risk of death. According to the research published in the journal Sleep, data from wearable activity trackers showed that nap duration and timing were related to increased all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older adults. Specifically, naps taken around the middle of the day were linked to a higher risk of death. This development brings scientists closer to understanding whether certain napping habits should raise concerns about a person's health. 'Our study fills a gap in knowledge by showing that not just whether someone naps, but how long, how variable, and when they nap during the day may be meaningful indicators of future health risk,' said lead study author Chenlu Gao, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, told Health. 'Past studies have relied on self-reported nap habits, which are subject to recall bias.' Study links naps with mortality According to Mrs Gao, numerous studies have explored the link between night-time sleep and mortality. However, she and her colleagues have 'long been interested in understanding daytime napping and its impact on health'. 'We saw a critical need to investigate whether objectively assessed napping behaviours are associated with longevity,' she explained. The team analysed data from 86,565 non-shift working adults, aged 43 to 79 (with an average of 63), who were part of the UK Biobank, a comprehensive biomedical database. Fifty-seven per cent of these participants were women. They wore a device that tracked their rest and activity levels for seven days, with napping defined as any sleep occurring between 9am and 7pm. During the 11-year follow-up period, 5819 of the study participants had died. Researchers identified a higher risk of death associated with three factors: longer naps, greater day-to-day variability in nap length, and more naps around noon and early afternoon. These associations remained true even after adjusting for factors such as body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, and overnight sleep duration. While the study established a correlation between different napping habits and mortality, it is crucial to note that it did not prove that napping causes an increased risk of death. It is also uncertain whether these findings apply to the general population. Why might napping be linked to mortality? Currently, as there is no definitive evidence that naps directly cause increased mortality, sleep experts are examining the research for clues — and some suggest that the underlying reasons for napping may be more relevant. Sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea or medical conditions that drain energy, like heart disease, could actually be the underlying cause of the nap-mortality connection. The study did attempt to account for lifestyle factors, but it remains difficult to control for undiagnosed medical conditions. Other experts propose that long, irregular midday naps could influence health by disrupting circadian rhythms, which are the body's internal sleep-wake cycles. This disruption could affect various factors that influence mortality, such as inflammation, metabolism, and cardiovascular health. Should we nap? If you feel the need to nap, experts recommend aiming for less than 30 minutes, as this allows you to feel refreshed and energised without experiencing grogginess. Napping earlier in the day can also help prevent your nap from interfering with your ability to sleep at night. If you find yourself napping more frequently or for longer periods, you should consult your doctor.
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Can 'biological clock' tests tell you anything worthwhile?
We all like to imagine we're ageing well. Now a simple blood or saliva test promises to tell us by measuring our "biological age". And then, as many have done, we can share how "young" we really are on social media, along with our secrets to success. While chronological age is how long you have been alive, measures of biological age aim to indicate how old your body actually is, purporting to measure "wear and tear" at a molecular level. The appeal of these tests is undeniable. Health-conscious consumers may see their results as reinforcing their anti-ageing efforts, or a way to show their journey to better health is paying off. But how good are these tests? Do they actually offer useful insights? Or are they just clever marketing dressed up to look like science? Over time, the chemical processes that allow our body to function, known as our "metabolic activity", lead to damage and a decline in the activity of our cells, tissues and organs. Biological age tests aim to capture some of these changes, offering a snapshot of how well, or how poorly, we are ageing on a cellular level. Our DNA is also affected by the ageing process. In particular, chemical tags (methyl groups) attach to our DNA and affect gene expression. These changes occur in predictable ways with age and environmental exposures, in a process called methylation. Research studies have used "epigenetic clocks", which measure the methylation of our genes, to estimate biological age. By analysing methylation levels at specific sites in the genome from participant samples, researchers apply predictive models to estimate the cumulative wear and tear on the body. Although the science is rapidly evolving, the evidence underpinning the use of epigenetic clocks to measure biological ageing in research studies is strong. Studies have shown epigenetic biological age estimation is a better predictor of the risk of death and ageing-related diseases than chronological age. Epigenetic clocks also have been found to correlate strongly with lifestyle and environmental exposures, such as smoking status and diet quality. In addition, they have been found to be able to predict the risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Taken together, a growing body of research indicates that at a population level, epigenetic clocks are robust measures of biological ageing and are strongly linked to the risk of disease and death. While these tests are valuable when studying populations in research settings, using epigenetic clocks to measure the biological age of individuals is a different matter and requires scrutiny. For testing at an individual level, perhaps the most important consideration is the "signal to noise ratio" (or precision) of these tests. This is the question of whether a single sample from an individual may yield widely differing results. A study from 2022 found samples deviated by up to nine years. So an identical sample from a 40-year-old may indicate a biological age of as low as 35 years (a cause for celebration) or as high as 44 years (a cause of anxiety). While there have been significant improvements in these tests over the years, there is considerable variability in the precision of these tests between commercial providers. So depending on who you send your sample to, your estimated biological age may vary considerably. Another limitation is there is currently no standardisation of methods for this testing. Commercial providers perform these tests in different ways and have different algorithms for estimating biological age from the data. As you would expect for commercial operators, providers don't disclose their methods. So it's difficult to compare companies and determine who provides the most accurate results — and what you're getting for your money. A third limitation is that while epigenetic clocks correlate well with ageing, they are simply a "proxy" and are not a diagnostic tool. In other words, they may provide a general indication of ageing at a cellular level. But they don't offer any specific insights about what the issue may be if someone is found to be "ageing faster" than they would like, or what they're doing right if they are "ageing well". So regardless of the result of your test, all you're likely to get from the commercial provider of an epigenetic test is generic advice about what the science says is healthy behaviour. While companies offering these tests may have good intentions, remember their ultimate goal is to sell you these tests and make a profit. And at a cost of around $500, they're not cheap. While the idea of using these tests as a personalised health tool has potential, it is clear that we are not there yet. For this to become a reality, tests will need to become more reproducible, standardised across providers, and validated through long-term studies that link changes in biological age to specific behaviours. So while one-off tests of biological age make for impressive social media posts, for most people they represent a significant cost and offer limited real value. The good news is we already know what we need to do to increase our chances of living longer and healthier lives. These include: We don't need to know our biological age in order to implement changes in our lives right now to improve our health. Hassan Vally is an associate professor of epidemiology at Deakin University. This piece first appeared on The Conversation.
