The Ferrero group factory in Arlon, Belgium, on April 8, 2022 (BELGA/AFP/ERIC LALMAND)
The Belgian health authorities announced on Friday that they had given the green light to the restart for a three-month test period of the Ferrero factory in Arlon (south), at the heart of a chocolate scandal contaminated with salmonella and closed since April 8. .
“During this period, the raw materials, as well as each batch of food produced will be analyzed. It is only if these analyzes give a compliant result that the products can be placed on the market”, indicated the Federal Agency for the safety of the food chain (Afsca).
The Italian giant, known worldwide for its Nutella and Kinder brands, has confirmed that it has received this “conditional authorization” to restart.
“As of today (Friday), the factory begins the process of reopening which will lead to the restart of the production lines in a few weeks”, underlined the group which has its head office in Luxembourg.
“This reopening follows a thorough cleaning and food safety checks carried out in close collaboration with Afsca,” he said in a press release.
The Arlon plant in the Belgian Ardennes is a major group site employing a thousand people.
According to Ferrero, “more than 1,800 quality tests have been carried out, 10,000 parts have been dismantled and cleaned” and investments made in particular to install “300 meters of new pipes”.
At the beginning of April, with the approach of the Easter holidays, the group had recalled all the products manufactured in its factory in Arlon after the report of dozens of cases of salmonellosis possibly linked to the consumption of its chocolate products in several countries. from Europe.
Kinder Surprise, Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Surprise Maxi 100 g and Kinder Schoko-Bons were concerned, in all the countries where they are distributed, and whatever their expiry date.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control said that as of June 3, 392 confirmed and 22 probable cases of monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium had been identified in EU countries and Britain.
Suspected of having been slow to react to a problem identified in December, Ferrero is the target of several legal investigations.
In Belgium, an investigating judge has been investigating since April 19 on suspicions of failure to comply with “traceability obligations in the food chain”, “breaches of the legal provisions on the safety and hygiene of foodstuffs”, ” involuntary bodily harm” and “failure to assist a person in danger”.
In France, a consumer association filed a complaint and an investigation was opened on May 25 by the Paris prosecutor’s office, in particular for “deception aggravated by the danger to human health” and “endangering the lives of others”.
According to the management of Ferrero, the contamination on the site of Arlon would come from “a filter located in a dairy butter tank” and would have arrived there “either by contaminated raw materials, or by people”.
© 2022 AFP
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