Could the Dubai chocolate give you CANCER? Experts warn cheap versions of the viral sweet treat contain carcinogenic chemicals, palm oil and toxins from MOULD

Few foods in recent memory have caused such a global stir as the renowned Dubai chocolate bar. 

The delectable treat, which found fame on social media last year, contains a mix of pistachio and crispy kataifi pastry known as 'angel hair'. 

Also known as 'Can't Get Knafeh Of It', it was created by Sarah Hamouda, a British-Egyptian Dubai-based chocolatier, as a new way to satiate her pregnancy cravings. 

Like Willy Wonka's golden ticket, chocolate fans around the world are clamouring for a taste of the confection, which is in desperately short supply. 

In the UK, Lidl and Waitrose are among the supermarkets flogging their own versions of the original creation – prompting long queues and empty shelves. 

However, it appears this exclusivity is leading to a chocolate black market, as manufacturers are producing cheap and dangerous knock-offs. 

According to an investigation in Germany, Dubai chocolate bars imported from the Middle East are filled with nasty additives and contaminants.

This includes palm oil, green food dyes, toxins produced by moulds and even chemical compounds thought to be carcinogenic. 

The investigation was conducted by Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Office (CVUA) Stuttgart, an office in Baden-Württemberg focusing on food safety.

Following Can't Get Knafeh Of It's viral attention last year, the experts tested eight imported samples of copycat Dubai chocolate – five from the UAE and three from Turkey. 

As well as ground pistachio and kataifi, the Dubai chocolate bar's filling contains tahini, a smooth paste made from ground sesame seeds. 

But the investigation found traces of palm oil - a cheap and accessible oil high in saturated fat, which has long been linked with health issues like heart disease.

What's more, the presence of contaminated palm oil in the chocolate caused the formation of 3-MCPD, a dangerous compound thought to be carcinogenic in humans.

In all, six of the eight bars contained 3-MCPD, which is primarily formed during the refining of vegetable fats and oils like palm oil. 

Five out of these six, all from the same manufacturer in the UAE, contained 3-MCPD above the maximum levels generally considered safe – and so were deemed 'unfit for consumption'. 

Also present were glycidyl fatty acid esters which are broken down into 3-MCPD and glycidol, another compound described as 'probably carcinogenic'. 

Meanwhile, the team also found mould toxins – primarily aflatoxins which are also considered a potent carcinogen in humans. 

Aflatoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced, among others, by the mould fungus Aspergillus flavus often during harvest and storage of agricultural crops including nuts. 

Worryingly, aflatoxins are 'undetectable by smell or taste' in the final product meaning consumers don't know they're ingesting them. 

Almost all products analysed also had food colourings E140 or E141 to give the filling a more intensely green shade and 'simulate a higher pistachio content,' the authority said in a statement. 

For the chocolate coating, five of the bars used poor quality substitutes instead of cocoa butter, including sunflower oil and palm oil. 

According to an EU-wide directive for cocoa and cocoa products, a product must contain cocoa butter to be considered chocolate at all, so the experts contend the branding as 'Dubai chocolate' as even an accurate description. 

Shockingly, cocoa butter was listed in the ingredients list in two of the five non-chocolate products, even though it was not actually included. 

In their report, CVUA did not reveal the the name of the bars' brands or their manufacturers, or where they're being sold; MailOnline has contacted the department for more information. 

But according to the experts, all samples looked 'externally similar' – filled brown bars, decorated with colored stripes and blobs (yellow, dark green, and sometimes dark red) and filled with a light green mass with stringy components. 

As the craze continues, CVUA plans to conduct further tests on more 'Dubai chocolate' products made in Germany and around Europe. 

'The initial test results are worrying and show that high-quality products don't necessarily come with high prices,' it said in a statement.

'We're continuing to investigate further "Dubai chocolates", including products produced in Germany and the EU, as well as further samples of pistachio preparations [and] we will report on the results.' 

In a statement, Tina Potter, head of Incidents at the Food Standards Agency (FSA), urged the public to be on the lookout for poor-quality products.  

'The vast majority of sweets and confectionery on sale in the UK are safe and legal, but consumers should be aware that some products manufactured abroad may be being sold here illegally,' she told MailOnline. 

'The products could be a food safety risk if allergens are not on the label, or if they contain additives or colourings that aren’t authorised here.

'We urge consumers who see such products on the market to contact their local Trading Standards office. 

'If products are confirmed to be a risk, the FSA will alert consumers and work with local authorities to ensure they are removed from sale.'