Belgian Kinder chocolate factory shut down due to salmonella outbreaks

The Arlon chocolate factory Ferrero that produces Kinder products has been ordered to close by Belgian health authorities.

Belgium’s Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) said in a statement on Friday that it issued the order “following the findings of the last few hours that information provided by Ferrero is incomplete”.

It ordered the recall of the Arlon factory’s entire production of the company’s popular Kinder brand, sold in major supermarket chains.

The latest decision came as a major blow to the local plant – part of the Italian confectionary giant Ferrero – ahead of the busy Easter holiday season.

Ferrero said it “sincerely apologised” for the recent spate of salmonella cases in several European countries and the US, report local media.

The company added that it “acknowledges internal inefficiencies, creating delays in retrieving and sharing information in a timely manner”.

Ferrero has been forced to extend its recall of Kinder products to all those manufactured at the site located in the south of Belgium. These include Kinder Surprise, Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Surprise Egg 100g and Kinder Schoko-Bons.

It had previously issued a recall for selected products with certain best-before dates.

The FASFC health authority said it would only authorise the reopening of the factory in Arlon once it had concluded that it complied with all food safety rules.

Photo: (c) Belga/Eric Lalmand