On April 8, 2022, Belgian health authorities instructed to suspend production at the Ferrero plant in Belgian as a consequence of the detection of dozens of cases of Salmonella linked to the company’s Kinder chocolates. 

Earlier in the week, Europe’s health agency had said it was investigating dozens of reported and suspected cases of Salmonella linked with eating chocolate in almost nine countries, with the majority of cases seen in children under the age of 10 years. 

Belgium’s food safety agency AFSCA-FAVV said that a link between salmonella and Ferrero production has been confirmed in more than a hundred cases, leading to the decision to suspend production. It was also said that the suspension will only be lifted once the plant will show to be meeting all food safety rules. 

It is important to mention here that the company had previously said that the product recalls from several countries including Spain, Britain, Ireland, and the United States were precautionary in nature and no kinder products released to the market had tested positive for Salmonella. (Belgium orders Ferrero plant shut over Kinder salmonella link | Reuters)