In a press release published on Thursday, the Italian group Ferrero announced that it had already detected salmonella contamination in its products on December 15, 2021.
“As part of our control systems, the presence of salmonella was detected on December 15, 2021 at the Arlon site in Belgium”, the same from which the chocolates recalled on Tuesday and Wednesday came from, indicates the group.
Ferrero then claims to have identified a filter at the outlet of the two raw material tanks as being the source of the contamination and to have removed it.
Production was also stalled that day and the products “were not delivered”.
“All the finished and semi-finished products that were manufactured in this factory in the five days preceding December 15 were also blocked,” said Ferrero France to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The group also says it has strengthened its controls during this period and carried out “more than 2,000 tests” in January.
Contamination on the rise
In France, Public Health France identified 21 patients on Tuesday, including 15 who indicated that they had consumed the Kinder products concerned.
A spokesperson for the British authorities told AFP on the same day that they had recorded 63 cases of salmonella contamination in the United Kingdom.
An investigation is underway with the food safety authorities.
According to Public Health France, the French and British salmonellosis cases concerned share the same genetic strain.
Consult a doctor quickly in case of symptoms
Ferrero says the investigation has shown “genotypic correspondence” between reported salmonella cases and its Arlon plant.
The recalled Kinder chocolates in France, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands were manufactured “between October 2021 and January 2022”, but “since the detection, i.e. December 15, and the cleaning, Ferrero did not detect any trace of salmonella” in the factory, says the group.
Public Health France recommends that people who have consumed the products concerned and who have these symptoms consult a doctor as soon as possible.