Production is halted at Ferrero factory after salmonella outbreak

More than a hundred cases of salmonella have been linked to eating Ferrero’s Kinder Surprise and Schokobons, among other products, in a number of EU countries (France, Republic of Ireland and Belgium) and the United Kingdom. The contaminated chocolate was manufactured at Ferrero’s Belgian factory in Arlon. Production has since been halted.

According to health authorities, the first case of salmonella linked to this outbreak was detected in the UK on 7 January, with more cases being detected in several countries from 17 February onwards. The Belgian food watchdog FAVV halted production at Ferrero’s Arlon factory on 8 April. Ferrero has stated that investigations show the infections to have been caused by the filter in two raw material reservoirs. However, the food authorities claim that Ferrero’s conclusion is premature and say that the investigations are still underway.

Product recalls

In the Netherlands, Belgium and Australia, all Kinder chocolate products from Ferrero’s Belgian factory are being withdrawn from shelves. Ferrero has described the recall as “precautionary”. The affected products are certain batches of Kinder Surprise, Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Surprise Maxi 100g and Kinder Schokobons.