The largest Belgian chocolate retailer in the Republic, Leonidas, has temporarily closed its 12 shops after being warned to withdraw its products by the Department of Health.
A Leonidas spokesman said the closure would have no "staff implications" for the 40 employees. The shops cannot re-open until the EU Commission decides what Belgian products are free from the cancer-causing chemical dioxin.
Leonidas operates shops in Dublin, Cork and other parts of the State, many of them on a franchise basis. The company said the decision to close the stores was "taken as a purely precautionary measure".
On Tuesday Leonidas shops were continuing to sell Belgian chocolates despite the warnings from the Department of Health and the Food Safety Authority (FSA). Some of the shops were continuing to trade yesterday before the company's statement was issued in the afternoon.
The company said the milk used in its chocolates had been certified by the Belgian Health Ministry as being "safe and free from any contamination" but following consultations with the Department of Health it decided to close.
Dunnes Stores were continuing to sell products made with Belgian ingredients in some of its Dublin stores yesterday. Lir Chocolates supply Dunnes Stores, and the Belgian Ministry of Public Health confirmed that the company which produces chocolate for Lir's product, Barry Callebaut, complied with health standards.
Milk drinks using Belgian saturated milk were still on sale despite the warnings from several Government agencies. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment.
A spokeswoman for the FSA said there was "no excuse" for any retailer to be still selling the products after "four separate alerts".
While the Department of Health issued the alerts to retailers, it is the responsibility of the State's health boards to enforce them. A statement from the department said environmental health officers, attached to the health boards, were "actively pursuing the withdrawal and detention of the foods implicated".
The Department of Health has placed advertisements in today's newspapers telling the public it has instructed retailers to remove certain Belgian food products from their shelves, including bakery products, sauces, dressings, egg-based products, ice cream and confectionery, where a danger of dioxin contamination exists.