After being linked to dozens of salmonella cases, a Kinder chocolate factory in Belgium has been ordered to close.
The Belgian food safety authority has also ordered the recall of all Kinder products produced at Ferrero’s Arlon factory. Salmonella cases suspected to be linked to Kinder chocolate have been reported in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Belgium. Ferrero has issued an apology and admitted to “internal failures.”
The factory was ordered to close by Belgium’s food safety authority, the AFSCA, after Ferrero failed to provide complete information for its investigation.
The investigation is still ongoing, according to the AFSCA, and the factory will only be allowed to reopen if Ferrero can provide the necessary assurances that it is in compliance with food safety regulations. In a statement, Belgian Agriculture Minister David Clarinval said: “Such a decision is never easy to make, but the current situation necessitates it. Our citizens’ food security must never be overlooked.”
All Kinder Surprise, Kinder Surprise Maxi, Kinder Mini Eggs, and Kinder Schokobons products are affected by the recall.
The AFSCA has also requested that companies remove the products from their shelves and that consumers refrain from eating them. Ferrero recalled some of its Kinder chocolates from stores in the United States on Thursday due to concerns about salmonella contamination. A number of Kinder Surprise chocolate egg products were also recalled in the UK earlier this week.
The UK’s Food Standards Agency announced on Friday evening that none of the recalled products should be consumed, regardless of their best before date.
All of the sweets in question were produced in the same Belgian factory.
In Asia, including Hong Kong and Singapore, some Kinder chocolates have been recalled. Ferrero previously described the recalls as “precautionary,” claiming that none of its Kinder products had tested positive for salmonella when they were released for sale.
It came after an outbreak linked to Kinder Surprise eggs infected more than 60 people in the UK, the majority of whom were young children.
On Wednesday, the European Commission announced that it was investigating dozens of suspected salmonella cases linked to chocolate consumption in at least nine countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Belgium.
Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright