Kinder Surprise: Spain investigating first suspected case of salmonella poisoning

Kinder Surprise: Spain investigating first suspected case of salmonella poisoning.

A salmonella outbreak has been linked to batches of Kinder products in ten countries, including Spain.

SPAIN is reportedly investigating its first suspected case of salmonella poisoning from the Kinder products, including Kinder Surprise, which has left 119 confirmed and 31 probable cases in ten countries.

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), most cases of salmonellosis have occurred in children under 10 and many children have been hospitalised. In Spain, however, there is only one case being investigated, which has not required hospitalisation, as reported by ABC.

In Belgium, France and Germany, the most affected countries along with the UK, half of those affected by salmonella have required hospitalisation.

“This outbreak is evolving rapidly and, so far, children have been at highest risk of severe infection among the reported cases,” the assessment says. The two agencies hope the recall and health alerts will reduce the risk of further infections. However, “further investigations at the production site are needed to identify the cause, timing and possible factors behind the contamination, including assessing the possibility of wider use of contaminated raw material in other processing plants,” the latest report said.

A few days ago, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, through the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), decreed the recall of 14 Kinder products manufactured at its facilities in Arlon (Belgium), regardless of their expiry date, including batches of Kinder Schokobons, Kinder Surprise and Kinder Happy Moments.

Experts have identified a single-phase strain of Salmonella typhimurium as the cause of the outbreak. “The strain shows resistance to seven classes of antimicrobials, but remains sensitive to azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, meropenem and cephalosporins,” the report said.

The first case occurred on December 21, 2021, in the UK.

As of April 2, 2022, national competent authorities began issuing public health warnings and the company conducted a voluntary recall of specific products and batches in several countries. On April 8, 2022, following official controls, the Belgian food safety authority withdrew the company’s production authorisation. In addition, the company recalled all batches of all products produced in the Belgian establishment, irrespective of their batch number or expiry date.

Kinder products subject to health alert in Spain (in their Spanish trade name):

• Kinder Schokobons 46 gr.
• Kinder Schokobons 125 gr.
• Kinder Schokobons 200 gr.
• Kinder Schokobons 225 gr.
• Kinder Schokobons 500 gr.
• Kinder Schokobons White 200 gr.
• Kinder Sorpresa Maxi FROZEN 100gr.
• Kinder Sorpresa Maxi NATOONS 100gr
• Kinder Sorpresa Maxi NAVIDAD 100 gr.
• Kinder Sorpresa Maxi PITUFOS 100gr.
• Kinder Sorpresa de 6 unidades edición Navidad.
• Kinder Happy Moments 133 gr
• Kinder Happy Moments 191 gr.
• Kinder Mix Navidad.

European health and food safety bodies have said that “further investigations are needed at the production site to identify the cause, timing and possible factors behind the contamination, including evaluating the possibility of wider use of contaminated raw material in other production processing plants.”

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