Two European health monitoring agencies announced the registration of 150 cases of salmonella in 9 European countries in the recent period, attributing these cases to a “Belgian production plant” belonging to the Kinder company (a subsidiary of Ferrero) that was closed a few days ago in the city of Arlon, southeast of the capital, Brussels.
“On 8 April 2022, 150 confirmed and probable cases of salmonella were recorded,” the European Food Safety Agency and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said in a joint statement.
The two agencies pointed out, “Identification of products prepared from chocolate made by a company inside a Belgian production factory, which has been identified as the origin of the epidemic epicenter of salmonella,” without mentioning the giant Italian group by name.
The statement indicated that the injuries “occurred especially among children under the age of ten” and were reported in nine European countries: Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Salmonella bacteria sometimes cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea, intestinal cramps, a slight rise in body temperature and vomiting.
No deaths have been reported so far due to eating Kinder chocolate contaminated with bacteria.
European experts point to the need for additional investigations to “determine the exact source and exact moment of the infection”, and to research “the wider use of raw materials that cause injuries in other factories.”
On Monday, the Belgian judiciary opened an investigation to determine possible responsibilities inside the Arlon factory, whose license the Belgian Food Safety Agency withdrew on Friday due to a lack of transparency in the case.
Despite strengthening health supervision and hygiene measures, salmonella-contaminated chocolate products were distributed in Europe and the United States, which led Ferrero on Friday to acknowledge the existence of “internal loopholes”.
As soon as a link was revealed between “Kinder” products and salmonella infections at the end of March, following a move in this context by the British authorities, quantities of these products were withdrawn from several European countries, the United States and Arab countries.
Ferrero indicated that the recall measures include all products made at the Arlon plant, regardless of batch number or expiration date.