Kinder recalls 3,000 tonnes of chocolate over Salmonella fears

Kinder, the beloved kids chocolate brand has announced a major recall of its products over salmonella fears.

More than 3,000 tonnes of Kinder products worth tens of millions of euros had to be withdrawn. 

Chocolate products from a factory in Arlon, located in Southeast Belgium were found to be contaminated with Salmonella. Due to this, 150 cases have been reported in nine European countries. 

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A majority of those, 81 cases, are children under ten years of age. 

As per AFP while speaking to the Press, Nicolas Neykov, the head of Ferrero France, said that the source of contamination was a "filter located in a vat for dairy butter", at a factory in Arlon in Belgium. 

He added that the contamination could have been caused by human error or from raw materials.

"This crisis is heartbreaking. It's the biggest removal of products in the last 20 years," Neykov said.

In the midst of the Easter holiday season when the chocolate was highly sought after, this recall was a huge blow for Ferrero, the Italian confectionery company which owns Kinder.

The Belgium factory where Salmonella was found has been shut since April. However, the business hopes to reopen the factory, with 50 per cent of future health and safety checks being conducted by an approved "external laboratory," rather than the prior method of purely internal assessments.

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"We have asked for a reopening from June 13 to relaunch production as soon as possible," he continued.

Salmonella Typhimurium is a bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes deadly illnesses in young children, the elderly, and those who have weaker immune systems.

Fever, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain are common symptoms of Salmonella infection in healthy people. In rare cases, Salmonella infection can lead to the organism entering the bloodstream and causing more serious ailments such as arterial infections (infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis.

(With inputs from agencies)

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