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Dubai chocolate spread recalled in US; FDA issues highest risk warning

Dubai chocolate spread recalled in US; FDA issues highest risk warning

Khaleej Times2 days ago
A US-based specialty retailer has recalled a batch of Dubai chocolate spread over concerns of salmonella contamination. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published the announcement, updating the risk level Class I, their highest level.
World Market has recalled the product named Emek Spread Pistachio Cacao Cream with Kadayif due to a potential contamination of salmonella, the announcement on the FDA's site read. The products were distributed between June 11 to July 9, 2025.
The recall of the Emek products was first initiated on July 14. Three days later, the FDA updated it to a Class I classification, Newsweek reported.
"Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain," the statement said.
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"In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis," it added.
The firm initiated the recall after samples of the product were tested by the FDA and the products tested positive for Salmonella. However, no illnesses have been reported to date.
The 'Dubai chocolate', a chocolate bar containing a pistachio and kunafa filling, became popular after going viral on TikTok in 2024. The original chocolate bar was created by Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai, but variations have been made by several brands, including Emek Gıda, whose product is the one affected by the current recall.
FIX Dessert Chocolatier, a Dubai-based dessert brand founded by Sarah Hamouda, came up with the idea of the pistachio kunafa bar. Chef Nouel Catis, a Filipino dessert specialist, was hired by FIX to help develop the now-viral pistachio kunafa chocolate.
Last month, British regulator Food Standards Agency (FSA) said that some Dubai style chocolate being sold in the UK retail market may not meet the country's criteria and may contain banned additives or colouring agents.
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IVD Medical Holding Limited (01931.HK): Officially launched the application for the US stablecoin license and accelerated the landing of the IVDNewCo Exchange ecosystem
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HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 21 July 2025 – IVD Medical Holding Limited( - Forward-looking layout of the historical opportunity of the US "Genius Act", the IVDD stablecoin plan is gathering momentum to set sail and build a new global infrastructure for medical innovative drugs RWA! In the wave of deep integration of global digital finance and medical innovation, IVD Medical Holding Limited( took the lead in building the "NewCo+RWA" Web3 exchange ecosystem (IVDNewCo Exchange) with the construction of medical innovative drugs high-tech assets as the core and the supporting stablecoin "IVDDollar" (IVDD) plan as the core strategy, leading the digital revolution of global medical innovation assets. On July 20, 2025, the Board of Directors is pleased to announce that the US subsidiary carrying the Group's aforementioned core strategic mission has landed, and the IVDNewCo Exchange ecosystem has officially landed on the international financial stage. The company released the latest announcement today, officially announcing two milestones: the US wholly-owned subsidiary IVD GROUP INC. has completed registration, and the Group has officially started the process of submitting a stablecoin license application to the US regulator through the subsidiary; at the same time, the Web3 exchange ecosystem with medical innovative drug NewCo assets as the core - IVDNewCo Exchange and its supporting stablecoin IVDD have entered a substantive stage. This strategic move not only marks the Group's leading position in the field of compliant digital finance for medical innovative drugs, but also heralds a revolutionary breakthrough in the global medical asset liquidity and value conversion model. 1. Strategic opportunities under global regulatory resonance On July 18, 2025, local time, US President Trump signed the "Guidance and Establishment of the United States Stablecoin National Innovation Act" (hereinafter referred to as the "Genius Act") at the White House, establishing the legal status of stablecoins as "digital dollars". The implementation of this bill, together with the Stablecoin Ordinance of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which will take effect on August 1, forms a regulatory synergy between the East and the West, and jointly builds the compliance cornerstone of the global stablecoin market. The report of the China Banking Research Institute pointed out that currently 99% of the world's stablecoins are anchored to US dollar assets, and US Treasury bonds have become the core choice of stablecoin reserve assets due to their low risk and high liquidity. In this context, the Group proactively laid out the application for the US stablecoin license, and on July 20 officially announced that the US subsidiary had initiated the process of submitting application materials to regulatory agencies such as the US SEC and CFTC, becoming one of the very few listed companies in the Hong Kong stock market that has completed the "Hong Kong + US" dual hub compliance architecture layout. The strategic layout of the Group is deeply in line with the global regulatory trend. By establishing the US subsidiary IVD GROUP INC., we not only meet the strict requirements of the "Genius Act" for 100% reserve asset coverage and independent auditing of stablecoin issuers, but also rely on the sandbox mechanism of the Hong Kong "Stablecoin Ordinance" to build a cross-regional regulatory endorsement system. This dual hub model provides the IVDNewCo Exchange ecosystem with globally rare compliant liquidity support, enabling the Group to establish a first-mover advantage in the "Hong Kong Stock Stablecoin Concept Sector". 2. Technological Innovation: "NewCo+RWA+Stablecoin" Reconstructs the Value Chain of Medical Innovative Drug Assets The core breakthrough of the IVDNewCo Exchange ecosystem lies in the deep integration of Web3 technology and medical innovative drug assets. Relying on the commercial network covering 1,674 tertiary hospitals in China and the ability to acquire high-quality NewCo assets around the world, the Group has created the world's first RWA (real world asset) tokenization platform focusing on medical innovative drugs. The platform achieves the following innovations through blockchain technology: 1). Asset tokenization: converting innovative drug assets such as ADC drugs, bi-antibody therapy, and cell gene therapy in the clinical stage into tradable and divisible digital certificates to break through the liquidity bottleneck of traditional medical assets; 2). Compliance financial infrastructure: establish an underlying architecture to support the issuance, trading and settlement of IVDD stablecoins, ensuring that each $1 stablecoin corresponds to ultra-short-term U.S. Treasury bonds and other low-risk assets, meeting the U.S. SEC's "1:1 redeemable" requirements; 3). Coin-stock linkage mechanism: coordinate with Nasdaq's dual primary listing plan to explore the compound value creation model of "digital assets + traditional equity" to attract two-way inflows of traditional medical capital and crypto-native funds. The implementation of this technical architecture has been strongly supported by industry data. Public information shows that the current global innovative drug market has exceeded US$1.2 trillion, and China accounts for 6% of the market with a scale of RMB 450 billion, with an annual compound growth rate of 20.3%. Through the RWA platform, the Group expects to significantly improve the financing efficiency of innovative drug assets, while lowering the entry threshold for investors, allowing small and medium-sized investors around the world to participate in the medical innovation field that was originally limited to institutional investment. 3. Ecological synergy: creating a new paradigm for medical finance The Group's strategic advancement has always followed the three-dimensional path of "regulatory compliance-technological innovation-ecological synergy". In the United States, IVD GROUP INC.'s license application strictly follows the requirements of the Genius Act for reserve asset transparency, anti-money laundering (AML) and network security. Its technical system has passed a third-party security audit to ensure that smart contracts are free of loopholes; in Hong Kong, the Group will actively promote participation in the HKMA's stablecoin sandbox program to test reserve asset management and cross-border payment scenarios, laying the foundation for license application. More importantly, the implementation of the IVDNewCo Exchange ecosystem is reshaping the value chain of innovative medical drugs. Under the traditional model, the research and development of innovative drugs requires a cycle of up to 10 years, and 80% of the funds are concentrated in the clinical stage. Through the RWA platform, the Group can monetize clinical-stage assets in advance, provide pharmaceutical companies with low-cost financing channels, and provide investors with dynamic returns linked to the progress of drug development. For example, an ADC drug in Phase II clinical trials can attract global capital participation through tokenization, and its development progress data will be uploaded to the chain in real time to ensure that investors' rights and interests are transparent and traceable. 4. Industry Impact and Future Outlook The Group's strategic initiatives have attracted widespread attention from the capital market and the industry. After the announcement on the 17th, IVD Medical's share price opened sharply higher on the 18th, closing at HK$2.95, up 20.41% throughout the day, with a turnover exceeding HK$9.4886 million and a market value of HK$4.783 billion. Behind the market data is investors' strong confidence in the cross-border integration of "NewCo+RWA+stablecoin". Looking ahead, the Group will continue to deepen the three strategic directions of compliance expansion, technology deepening and ecological integration. Against the backdrop of the global low interest rate environment and the surge in demand for medical innovation, it will use Web3 technology as a bridge to connect traditional medical capital and digital financial innovation. We firmly believe that through compliance layout and technological innovation, the IVDNewCo Exchange ecosystem will become a value amplifier for global innovative medical drug assets, creating a win-win situation for patients, pharmaceutical companies and investors. Hashtag: #IVDMedicalHoldingLimited The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. IVD Medical Holding Limited

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