Salmonella in Kinder products: 29 infections connected to Ferrero Arlon in Belgium

Among the number of salmonella infections reported in Belgium, 29 cases have so far been linked to the Ferrero factory in Arlon, Belgium’s food safety agency FASFC has announced.

The Ardennes site manufactures Kinder Surprise, among other chocolate products popular with children.

The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain also found around 20 additional contaminations that occurred in recent months in Belgium, which it considers suspicious, reports Belga.

“The in-depth genetic analyses of the stool samples carried out by Sciensano and the patient questionnaires that the regional communities have introduced, should provide the answer to the question of whether these cases are indeed linked to Ferrero in Arlon”, pointed out FASFC.

So far, more than 100 cases of salmonellosis linked to the Belgian site of the Italian chocolate company Ferrero, have been reported in several countries in Europe. Their origin has been confirmed by DNA analyses and patient questionnaires.

Further investigations into other suspected cases are ongoing in these countries. The focus is on children under the age of 10 who have consumed the products. 

The most common symptoms of salmonella infection include diarrhoea, fever, abdominal pain or vomiting.

All production is currently suspended at the Arlon factory, and all Kinder products manufactured between June and the present date have been recalled.

Photo: (c) Belga/Laurie Dieffembacq