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Organic rice cakes are causing havoc for wildlife in Cornwall after a container ship lost 32 pallets of the plastic wrapped snacks.

A small container ship lost four large containers off the coast of Cornwall. One of the containers, which had rice cakes inside, broke, causing hundreds of them to wash up along the north coast.

The rice cakes are all individually wrapped in plastic which is causing concern among conservationists as to the adverse effects the latest pollution could have on wildlife.

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Local group Surfers Against Sewage has already had a meeting with marine surveyors and now local residents are being called on to join the efforts to clean-up the worst hit beaches.

A Surfers Against Sewage spokesperson said: "A small container ship was hit by bad weather and four containers fell overboard. One contained Ikea furniture, one had power tools, one was filled with cases of wine and one was filled with 32 pallets of rice cakes. That container broke up and the rice cakes started washing ashore almost straight away.

"They have been washing up along the coast from Holywell Bay to Perranporth, with Perranporth being the worst hit beach."

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The rice cakes belonged to Irish company Bunalun Organics who issued a statement apologising for the incident.

The company also arranged for a surveyor to visit the beach to organise the clean-up.

A spokesperson for Surfers Against Sewage added: "We have met with marine surveyors and we are now coordinating a clean-up, working with Clean Cornwall and Cornish Plastic Pollution Coalition.

"We had reps out over the weekend to start the clear-up. The problem is that each rice cake is individually wrapped in plastic wrappers, which is a big worry. The recent storms are breaking these wrappers up as well which is making it much worse for the wildlife.

"We will be organising volunteer beach cleans and these will be advertised on our website as soon as we have the dates."

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Kieran Dunne managing director of Bunalun Organics said: "As Managing Director of 'Bunalun Organic' I would like to express how sorry we are for the recent land spill on the beach at Perranporth.

"As an organic company we believe in promoting a healthy environment and in the 19 years we have been in business we have been very fortunate not to encounter an accident of this nature. As you may or may not be aware, one of our containers of 'Bunalun Organic' rice cakes was lost at sea on Friday, due to bad weather conditions, thankfully no persons were injured in the storm and the vessel arrived safetly home.

"We were made aware yesterday morning by the local people in Perranport that our products had washed up on to their beach. I would like to convey my thanks to each and every one of the persons involved in helping to commence with the clean-up and to thank them for responding so quickly.

"We are glad to inform you that a surveyor will be on the scene today and will arrange with the local authorities for a further clean up, to ensure the beach is restored to its former glory. As a company based in Co Kerry in Ireland, we are also surrounded by some beautiful beaches and we are aware of the importance of promoting a safe and environmental place for local people and visitors.

"We are confident that this was a rare incident and all measures will be put in place to try and avoid anything of this nature from happening again. We hope to learn from this situation and that all our shipments become smarter and safer in the future."

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Organic rice cakes are washing up on Cornwall's beaches and posing a threat to wildlife - Cornwall Live