v The news that a national corn flake shortage was due to a salmonella crisis, and not, as the cereal-maker had claimed, high demand, sparked fury among Israeli consumers last week.

After initially denying that there had been any problem with its products, Unilever, the producer of Telma and Delipecan corn flakes, admitted that "a small number of products failed to meet the companies' rigorous microbiological standards". It added that it had decided not to market the boxes of cereal feared to be affected by "secondary infection".

One customer, Eyal Hubara, wrote on Telma's Facebook page: "You harmed the health of our children and there is nothing more important than them."

Unilever responded by saying that the problem was discovered a month ago and that products affected did not make it into shops.