The Kinder Chocolate Recall Has Officially Reached The US
With Easter just over a week away, Ferrero U.S.A., Inc. has voluntarily recalled its Kinder Happy Moments Chocolate Assortment and Kinder Mix Chocolate Treats basket due to possible salmonella contamination, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports.
Per the FDA, salmonella typhimurium was found in the facility which manufactured the two products. No cases have been reported in the U.S. to date, but since the products were made in the same facility as some Kinder chocolates linked to an outbreak in salmonella cases across Europe, Ferraro is exercising justifiable caution in issuing the voluntary recall.
Salmonella poisoning can cause serious and even fatal infections in children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems, the FDA warns. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Consumers who purchased either product should not eat them or allow children to do so, and may contact Ferrero for a full refund.
The Kinder Happy Moments Chocolate Assortment (UPC 09800 52025) was sold at Costco stores in California's Bay Area and Northern Nevada, as well as BJ's Wholesale Club stores. Kinder Mix Chocolate Treats baskets (UPC 09800 60209) were sold at 14 Big Y supermarket locations in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Ferrero recall in U.S. follows European outbreak
The facility in question where salmonella was detected is located in Arlon, Belgium, according to Politico, and is linked to cases of salmonella poisoning reported in numerous countries. These including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and the U.K., per the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The agency has recorded 134 confirmed or probable cases of salmonella poisoning across the E.U. and U.K. to date, the majority occurring in children under the age of 10. The U.K. has been the single most affected country, with 63 cases in total.
Although the ECDC did not mention Ferrero by name, Reuters linked the two on April 6, reporting that the company recalled some of its Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs from stores in Spain, Ireland, and the U.K. The U.S. thus joins a growing list of countries where Ferrero has recalled chocolate products in the past week.