Kinder chocolates recall: EU agency urges further investigation at Belgian plant

European health agencies have called for further investigation into the Kinder chocolate factory in Arlon linked to an outbreak of salmonella across Europe.

All products from the Arlon plant in the north of the country were recalled on April 8, following a spate of cases in ten European countries.

Belgian authorities ordered production at the site to be suspended, criticising it for a lack of transparency.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said as of April 8, 150 cases of confirmed or probable salmonella poisoning have been detected, with most cases in children under the age of 10.

ECDC experts said “further investigations are needed at the production site in Arlon, to identify the root cause, timing, and possible factors behind the contamination”.

The warnings for the Kinder products came amid other food recalls in Europe.

Buitoni, owned by Nestlé, recalled its entire range of Fraîch'Up frozen pizzas due to links to E.coli on March 18, while Lactalis recalled tens of thousands of its cheeses, after they were suspected of carrying the listeria bacteria.

Kinder, owned by the Italian company Ferrero, detected Salmonella Typhimurium in a buttermilk tank at the Arlon site during the manufacturer’s own checks in December 2021, according to the ECDC.

The company “implemented some hygiene measures and increased sampling and testing of the products and the processing environment,” the ECDC statement continued.

After the samples reportedly came back negative for salmonella, Kinder distributed the products across Europe and beyond.

The first cases of salmonella linked to the chocolate were in the UK in January. After more cases were discovered and linked to batches