Batches of Kinder Surprise, Kinder Surprise Maxi, Schoko Bons and Kinder Mini Eggs with a use-by date between 11/07/22 and 7/10/22 for the first and between 10/08/22 and 10/09/22 for the other four are linked to a potential salmonella outbreak in several European countries. Belgium's federal food chain safety agency AFSCA sounded the alarm on Monday 4 April. Consumers in possession of these products are asked to return them to the supermarket where they were purchased.

“In Luxembourg, a case Salmonella typhimurium was recently identified and is currently under investigation,” stated the government's office for quality, fraud and food safety on Tuesday 5 April. The body said that at this stage, the Luxembourg authorities do not know whether the identified batches were marketed in Luxembourg. However it is certain that some of these sweets are on the shelves of many supermarkets in the run-up to Easter, which this year falls on 17 April.

Cramps and diarrhoea

The products in question are manufactured not far from Luxembourg, in the Ferrero Ardennes factory in Arlon. "Following a series of salmonella outbreaks reported in different member states, an investigation was carried out to identify the common source. The investigation showed that Ferrero's Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs were a suspect food product,” said the AFSCA.

The government's office for quality, fraud and food safety adds that more than 90 cases of salmonellosis have been reported in seven European countries. It is estimated that the risk of salmonella is may affect several hundred tonnes of products.

Salmonella is a bacterium that can cause salmonellosis. The infection is characterised by symptoms of fever, abdominal cramps and diarrhoea between 6 and 72 hours after consumption of the affected products.

A major employer

Ferrero Ardennes has been based in Arlon since 1989 and has eight production lines. The factory employs 725 people, but the number of workers can rise to 1,100 employees during seasonal peaks, according to its website. 96% of its production is exported to 45 countries around the world. These include Kinder Schoko-Bons, Kinder Surprise, and Raffaello.

The company’s . It claims to be the third largest manufacturer of chocolate products in the world, with an estimated marketshare of 13.5%.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.