Ferrero, the giant food company, admitted in a statement Friday that there are “internal loopholes”, following the suspension of its factory that produces “Kinder” chocolate in Belgium, following its products were suspected of causing salmonella infections.
The Italian group said it “deeply regrets this case”, offering a “sincere apology from all consumers and business partners.”
She emphasized that “all necessary measures are taken to maintain the full confidence of our consumers.”
Ferrero’s statement came shortly following the Belgian Food Safety Agency announced Friday that it had ordered a halt to work at the Kinder Chocolate Factory, which some of the products made in it were attributed to causing salmonella infections, accusing the Italian giant of providing “incomplete information.”
“Several weeks ago, more than a hundred cases of salmonella were detected in Europe,” the Belgian authority said, pointing to the identification of a “link” at the end of last month between these infections and products from the Ferrero factory in the Belgian city of Arlon.
The authority added that following investigations, “and following observations recorded in the last hours that showed that Ferrero provided incomplete information, the authority is today withdrawing the license granted to the Ferrero production plant in Arlon.”
The authority also issued an order to withdraw all Kinder products manufactured on the aforementioned site from the market.
The authority explained in a statement that this comprehensive withdrawal includes “all products of the Kinder Surprise+, Kinder Surprise Maxi+, Kinder Mini Eggs+ and Schoko-bons+, regardless of product groups or their expiration date.”
She asked “distribution companies to withdraw all these products from store shelves.”
The health authority stated that it “will closely follow the steps taken by Ferrero and will not allow the reopening of the site until following ensuring that the institution complies with all rules and obligations related to food safety.”
She pointed out that the investigation with Ferrero is continuing, calling on consumers not to eat any of the products in question.
In the past days, the Italian company has recalled Kinder chocolate products present in the markets of several European countries (France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden and the Netherlands), as well as in the United States, due to concerns regarding products made at its Belgian factory in Arlon, suspected of being the source of an outbreak of salmonella.
On Thursday, the Food and Drug Authority in Saudi Arabia had warned of the possibility of contamination of some Kinder chocolate products with salmonella bacteria, and called for avoiding their consumption.
The authority said in a statement, “The Rapid Alert Center received a report of contamination of the “Kinder Surprise Maxi” product with batch numbers including “L004L03” and “L005L03-AD” with an expiration date of 10/1/2022.
The authority confirmed that it is taking the necessary measures to ensure that local markets are free of the aforementioned product, and also recommends consumers to avoid it and get rid of what they have in order to preserve their health.
In France, the National Reference Center for Salmonella at the Pasteur Institute announced that 21 cases of this bacteria had been recorded, 15 of which belonged to people who had eaten the aforementioned Kinder products, according to the French Public Health Authority. The average age of the injured is four years.
