Salmonella at Ferrero: factory in Belgium closes
The Ferrero recall continues. A factory in Belgium is responsible for over 100 of the salmonella cases. All products manufactured there are being recalled.
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Ferrero continues to recall batches of various children’s products – including children’s chocolate bons
© Laurie Dieffembacq/BELGA/dpa
Due to salmonella cases in several countries, confectionery manufacturer Ferrero has had to stop production at a factory in Belgium for the time being. The Afsca supervisory authority announced on Friday that it would revoke the production license for the Arlon factory as a result of investigations. According to the statement, Ferrero did not provide sufficient information in the investigation. All products from the factory must therefore be recalled, regardless of their production date.
According to the announcement, this includes all Kinder Surprise, Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Surprise Maxi and chocolate bons that were manufactured in Arlon. Afsca also asked all distributors to withdraw related products from retail outlets. The Arlon plant may only reopen once all food safety rules and requirements have been met.
Over the past few weeks, over 100 cases of salmonella have been identified in Europe, which have subsequently been linked to the Arlon manufacturing facility, Afsca wrote. Ferrero previously announced that salmonella had been detected at the plant as early as December 15, 2021. Salmonella was found in a sieve at the outlet of two raw material tanks and the products made from them were then withheld. The filter has been replaced and controls on work-in-progress and finished products have been increased, Ferrero said.
Ferrero previously extended its product recall to include some Christmas items due to a possible link to salmonella cases. Among other things, there are special surprise eggs and advent calendars, each with a best-before date of April 20, 2022, as from one on Thursday in the portal Lebensmittelwarning.de published overview. Only Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein are affected by the extension of the recall, according to the portal operated by the Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety and the federal states.
According to Ferrero, selected batches of “kids” products made in Belgium are affected by the recall. It is “about a possible connection with a number of reported salmonella cases”. Although none of the “kids” products tested positive for salmonella, Ferrero takes the matter very seriously, “because consumer protection is our top priority.”
Ferrero had previously recalled a number of “kids” products, including several Easter items. In addition to Germany, many other countries are affected by the recall, even Australia.
In Europe, the EU food safety authority EFSA and the EU health authority ECDC started investigations. The two authorities had spoken of 105 confirmed salmonella cases and 29 suspected cases on Wednesday, most of them in children under the age of ten. Certain chocolate products have been identified as a likely route of infection.
As a precaution, the following items should not be consumed in Germany: Kinder surprise eggs (pack of four, best before date/best before date 08/21/2022), Kinder Maxi Mix Plush (best before 08/21/2022), Kinder Mini Eggs Mix (best before 08/21/2022) and Kinder Surprise Maxi Egg Smurfs (best before 08/19/2022 to 09/18/2022).
They were made in Belgium. The company also published an updated list of all recalled products.
You can find the exact list as a PDF at this link or in the following tweet:
Almost two weeks before Easter, Ferrero recalled several products on Tuesday. The EU food safety authority EFSA and the EU health authority ECDC have started investigations and want to publish an assessment in the coming week. So far, 105 confirmed salmonella cases and 29 suspected cases have emerged, most of them in children under the age of ten, the authorities said on Wednesday. In Germany, four confirmed and three suspected cases are known. In addition to Great Britain, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are also affected.
The outbreak is marked by an unusually high proportion of children requiring hospitalization, some with severe symptoms such as bloody diarrhea, EFSA and ECDC also said. Certain chocolate products have been identified as a likely route of infection.
As Ferrero announced on Tuesday, the decision was taken voluntarily as a precautionary measure to recall Germany. The company is working closely with the responsible food authority in Germany to uncover a possible link to a number of reported cases of salmonella. “While none of our launched children’s products have tested positive for salmonella and we have not received any consumer complaints, we take the matter very seriously.”
Children’s surprise eggs affected by the recall
The recall in Germany affects batches of Kinder Surprise Eggs (pack of three) with a sell-by date between April and June 2022, as well as Kinder-Schoko-Bons and Kinder-Schoko-Bons White with a sell-by date between May and September 2022.
According to the information, the products are also being recalled
- Kinder-Surprise Maxi (100 grams)
- Children’s mini eggs (100 grams)
- Children’s mix packs
containing any of the above items, with an expiration date between August and September 2022. All items were manufactured in the same factory, according to Ferrero.
As the French health authorities announced in Paris on Tuesday, there were 21 cases of infection in the country. It is genetically the same salmonella that was responsible for an outbreak of disease in Great Britain and Ireland. The affected children’s chocolate products are all manufactured in a factory in Arlon, Belgium. According to French information, the Belgian food authorities are investigating in this regard.
According to the authorities there, there have been no cases of infection in Belgium itself. However, some suspected cases are still being investigated. In addition, the authorities would carry out additional and targeted checks on the Ferrero company in Belgium. (dpa)