Kurdistan Region bans all Ferrero Kinder chocolate products
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region Health Ministry banned the import of all Ferrero Kinder chocolate products on Wednesday.
Under the ministry's order, all Kinder products in the Kurdistan Region will be returned to Belgium, where they were made.
This decision follows the detection of at least 150 salmonella cases in nine European countries from the brand’s chocolates.
"Most cases are children under ten years of age, with many being hospitalized," the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said in a joint statement on Apr. 12.
Out now 👉joint assessment with @ECDC_EU identified chocolate products made in a Belgian plant as source of multicountry outbreak of #Salmonella
— EFSA (@EFSA_EU) April 12, 2022
Further investigations are needed to identify the root cause, time & possible factors behind the contamination https://t.co/WTimUg25cR pic.twitter.com/K9Z9ZYb8So
According to the order signed by the Minister of Health Saman Baranji, the import of all Ferrero's Kinder chocolate products into the Kurdistan Region will be banned until further notice.
"This decision will stay valid until this global food safety issue is dealt with in the source country," read the ministry’s order.
Belgian authorities halted Kinder chocolate production at a plant in the country's south, saying the parent company Ferrero supplied it with "incomplete information" regarding the outbreak of salmonella poisoning in Europe.
Belgium's food safety agency withdrew its authorization for Ferrero's plant in Arlon on Friday and ordered a recall of all products from the site.
"With immediate effect, the entire production of Kinder Surprise, Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Surprise Maxi 100g, and Kinder Schokobons made in Arlon is being recalled," Ferrero said in a statement.
Ferrero has apologized and acknowledged "internal failures" for the disease outbreak.
According to EFSA, salmonella poisoning cases were detected in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. The first cased occurred in the UK on Dec. 21, 2021.
EFSA and ECDC experts say that further investigations are needed to identify the root cause, time, and possible factors behind the contamination.
Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. It is one of the most common food-borne infections.