KINDER. Many Kinder brand products are the subject of a giant recall campaign following an alert for suspected links to cases of salmonellosis observed in recent days. Kinder Surprise and Schoko-bons are among the products recalled before Easter. Here is all the practical information.
[Mis à jour le 6 avril 2022 à 07h39] Following the launch of a health alert launched by the Ministry of Health following a first communicated of the Ferrero group, the giant recall of Kinder products is organized everywhere in France. Faced with a torrent of calls, the firm Ferrero, which notably has Kinder and Nutella among its flagship brands, has set up two forms of contact for its customers wishing to know if the lots purchased are affected by this recall and the terms of repayment :
- the freephone number 0800 653 653 which was quickly rendered unreachable on Tuesday April 5 due to too many calls.
- by email to the following address: [email protected].
The reason for this giant recall which affects tons of chocolates a few days before Easter? Suspicions of links with cases of salmonellosis in recent days, in children in particular. the communicated of the Ferrero group evokes in particular the Kinder surprise, Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Surprise Maxi or even Kinder Schoko-Bons. Have you recently purchased Kinder brand products? Please note that a list of recalled products was quickly released and can be found below.
Kinder did not communicate on specific batch numbers or product references to find on the packaging. The only information to scrutinize is the expiry date of the purchased product. Here is the list of Kinder products that are subject to this recall:
- Kinder Schoko-Vouchers : the recall is massive on these small chocolate eggs individually wrapped and sold in sachets since all formats are concerned for batches displaying expiry dates ranging from end of April 2022 to end of August 2022.
- Kinder Surprise : all boxes containing 20 gram Kinder Surprises (the classic format sold all year round) are concerned, whether Kinder Surprise eggs are sold by one, three, four or by box of six. All batches with best before dates from end of June 2022 to end of October 2022 are being recalled.
- Kinder Surprise Maxi 100 grams : these larger eggs, sold at the time of the holidays, are also concerned, with the same expiry dates: from the end of June 2022 to the end of October 2022.
- Kinder Mini Eggs : all the batches of these mini eggs sold in particular at the time of the holidays or Easter are also concerned with expiry dates ranging from end of April 2022 to end of August 2022.
- Kinder Happy Moments : are concerned the packaging 193 grams (ballotins) with expiry date indicating the end of August 2022.
- KinderMix : are concerned the “plush” pack 133 grams and the “egg hunt basket” 150g and Bucket 198 grams, with expiry dates at the end of August 2022.
Several hundred tons of chocolate are de facto concerned. All of the recalled products are made in Belgium, in the Arlon factory, where 46,000 tonnes of chocolate were produced in 2017 according to the brand. The Belgian subsidiary of Ferrero specifies on its website that this production site “today has 8 production lines and manufactures Kinder Schoko-Bons exclusively for the whole world.”
The brand ensures that “none of our Kinder products placed on the French market has tested positive for salmonella, we have not received any complaints from consumers, nevertheless we take this matter very seriously, because the consumer protection is our top priority.” The brand thus evokes a recall “as a precaution” but Santé Publique France goes further: “in France, the investigations carried out by Santé Publique France have revealed the consumption of certain Kinder brand products subject to this withdrawal-recall in the days preceding the appearance of symptoms in the 15 patients who could be questioned at this time”, specifies a press release published on the Public Health France website. If no proof has been provided for the time being, several children have fallen ill and had the common point of having consumed it very recently, which has fueled fears of contamination and led to this recall. The products concerned by this possible contamination are numerous.
The link between these batches of Kinder chocolate and salmonella is for the moment “potential”, Ferrero ensuring that no product has at this stage tested positive. It is about twenty cases of salmonellosis noted by the health authorities in France which caused this recall “as a precaution”. Salmonella (or Salmonella) is a bacterium that can spread and multiply in the digestive system and cause salmonellosis: a food infection that manifests itself in gastrointestinal disorders, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach aches. Complications can arise and lead to a generalized infection with fever, typhoid and paratyphoid fever or even sepsis. Most cases of salmonellosis are mild, but depending on the cases and the profile of those infected, sometimes the disease is life-threatening. Symptoms appear on average after one to three days of incubation. A few cases of severe complications, leading to meningitis or septicemia, have already been observed in the past, in susceptible people.
It is therefore advisable to monitor children who have consumed Kinder chocolates within forty-eight hours after ingestion. People who have consumed the Kinder products mentioned above and who show symptoms are invited to consult their doctor without delay.
According to the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), which published a statement Tuesday morning, of the 21 cases currently listed, eight have been hospitalized and all have now returned home. “The median age of cases is 4 years old”, detail the authorities. Infants and young children, but also the elderly, pregnant women or immunocompromised people are most at risk in the event of salmonellosis due to the risk of severe dehydration following symptoms of acute diarrhea.
If you have purchased any Kinder products listed above, the Department of Health asks that you “do not consume them and dispose of them immediately”. If you wish to obtain a refund, take a photo of the packaging as well as the product references present on this same packaging. You are invited to report it by calling the number provided by Ferrero or by writing to the email address provided:
- the telephone number set up by Ferrero is as follows: 0800 653 653 (freephone).
- the contact email address is: [email protected]
Attention, the toll-free number indicated has been reported as regularly saturated. At midday, it could even appear as “unassigned”, as indicated by several Internet users. We repeatedly tried to reach an operator but the switchboard continuously sounded like “busy”. It is therefore more advisable to use the email address provided above for a quick response.
You will be asked for the expiry date and the barcode number in particular. This contact will also make it possible to initiate a request for reimbursement.