People holding these Kinder brand chocolates are asked not to consume them and to throw them away. “In the context of the salmonellosis epidemic at European level, in connection with the consumption of certain Kinder brand products”the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) and the Directorate General for Health (DGS) announced on Friday April 8 that the Ferrero group is recalling five Kinder products in France, regardless of their expiration date.
These are Kinder Surprise, Kinder Schoko-Bons milk, Kinder Schoko-Bons White, Kinder Happy Moments, Kinder Mini Eggs hazelnut, cocoa, milk and Kinder Mini Eggs mix and Kinder Mix (Bag, Basket, Soft Toy, Bucket, Car ). All references concerned (see the list here) had already been withdrawn in France since April 4, but only for certain expiry dates.
For its part, the Belgian food safety agency (AFSCA) announced on Friday that it had ordered the cessation of production at the Kinder chocolate factory in Arlon (Belgium), source of contamination with salmonellosis, deploring “incomplete information” supplied by Italian confectionery giant Ferrero.
In the aftermath, Ferrero acknowledged in a press release “internal failures”. The group “deeply regret this matter” and presents its “sincere apologies to all (the) consumers and business partners”.
“For several weeks, more than a hundred cases of salmonellosis have been identified in Europe”indicated the FASFC, stressing that a “link” established at the end of March between these poisonings and the Ferrero factory “has since been confirmed”.
With the approach of the Easter holidays, the recall of all the products manufactured in this factory in Arlon concerns all the countries where they are distributed. These chocolates are usually sold in France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.
The health authority emphasizes that it “will closely monitor the steps taken by Ferrero and will only authorize the reopening of the site after it has been able to conclude that the establishment meets all food safety rules and requirements”.