In Belgium, on Friday, March 8, the federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) ordered the closure of all of the Kinder products that are made in the factory in Arlon as there were dozens of salmonella cases reported.
The Kinder chocolate factory owned by Ferrero has been shut down. As per the sources, the cases of salmonella that are connected with the Kinder chocolate that has been reported in the nations including the United Kingdom, Germany, France as well as Belgium.
Moreover, Ferrero has apologised as well as acknowledged that there were “internal failures”.
The food safety authorities of Belgium, the AFSCA, mentioned in the statement that the factory was ordered to shut down after Ferrero was unable to provide whole information for its investigation.
Along with this, the AFSCA stated that the investigators were working on the case, and the factory would only be allowed to reopen if Ferrero could provide the necessary guarantees that it complied with the food safety rules and regulations.
FASFC highlighted in the report, “At the same time, all products from the Kinder range that were produced at Ferrero Arlon are being recalled today,” he was specifying that it includes all of the products of all the types’ Kinder Surprise’, ‘Kinder Surprise Maxi’, ‘Kinder Mini Eggs’ & ‘Schoko-bons’, regardless of lot number or expiry date.
Furthermore, the Agriculture Minister of Belgium named, David Clarinval, asserted, “Such a decision is never taken lightly, but the current circumstances make it necessary. The food security of our citizens can never be neglected.”
Meanwhile, Hélène Bonte of the FASFC expressed, “We were informed by our colleagues from the United Kingdom last week that a link had been found with the company in Arlon, not by Ferrero itself.”
“If a company has a problem in the production process that could pose a potential risk to consumers, there is an obligation to report this,” Bonte said. “But if Ferrero believes that it was solved internally and that no products went out, then in principle, they do not have to report the contamination. We are now investigating whether Ferrero has correctly assessed the risks.”