Ferrero has extended its recall of Kinder Surprise chocolate products due to an outbreak of Salmonella, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The FSAI, together with the Health Protection Surveillance Centre of the Health Service Executive (HSE), is investigating this ongoing food poisoning outbreak, which is affecting Ireland, the UK, and a number of other European countries.
To date, there have been 10 cases in Ireland with the same strain of Salmonella responsible for the UK outbreak. A number of the Irish cases have involved young children, all of whom have fully recovered.
The food recall issued on Saturday (March 2) by Ferrero originally applied to Kinder Surprise 20g and Kinder Surprise 20g multi-pack products with best-before dates between July 11, 2022 and October 7, 2022.
The recall has now been extended to include Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Egg Hunt Kit, Kinder Surprise 100g and Kinder Schokobons with best before dates between April 20, 2022 and August 21, 2022.
Chief executive of FSAI, Dr. Pamela Byrne, has warned consumers not to eat the products included in the food recall.
“If anyone has any of the affected product at home, we are advising them not to eat it. We know that these particular Kinder Surprise products are popular with young children,” Dr. Byrne said.
“Given that we are approaching Easter, we would urge parents and guardians to check at home if they have any of the products and if they do, to ensure that any are not eaten.
“We have 10 cases of Salmonella food poisoning in Ireland linked to these products. The most common symptom of Salmonella food poisoning is diarrhoea, which can sometimes be bloody. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and abdominal cramps.”
Retailers are being asked to remove the implicated batches from sale and to display a point-of-sale recall notice in stores where the affected batches were sold.