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Confectionery maker Cadbury Schweppes has admitted it failed to maintain health and safety standards in its salmonella contamination scare last year.

Birmingham magistrates court heard the company plead guilty to three charges laid by Birmingham city council surrounding the events which caused spring 2006's recall of one million chocolate bars.

The Health Protection Agency concluded in a report published in July last year that 36 of 56 reported cases of people who contracted salmonella between March and July 2006 were attributable to products from Cadbury.

The chocolate-maker admitted that its products may have been contaminated and that a faulty pipe at its Marlbrook plant in Herefordshire may have caused the contamination.

Today Cadbury pleaded guilty to placing unsafe products on the market, not acting to prevent the hazard from developing as it did and failing to inform the public and authorities quickly enough.

In a statement released after today's short hearing, it said: "Mistakenly, we did not believe that there was a threat to health and thus any requirement to report the incident to the authorities we accept that this approach was incorrect."

It declined to comment further, citing ongoing legal proceedings.

Herefordshire council has also laid charges over the Marlbrook factory incident. A separate hearing will take place on July 24th.

Shares in Cadbury fell by 0.21 per cent by mid-afternoon, having dipped after news of its guilty pleas.