A global outbreak of salmonellosis was narrowly averted last April thanks to an effective recall by Belgium’s Ferrero factory, whose Kinder products had been infected with the bacteria.
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“Without clear and coordinated action across Europe and beyond, thousands more children could have fallen ill and many may have died,” said Johanna Takkinen, disease specialist at the European Center for Prevention and for Disease Control (ECDC), according to Belgian media.
Last April, more than a hundred cases of Salmonellosis were recorded in various European countries, including 128 cases in Great Britain, following the consumption of Ferrero products, including various Kinder surprise eggs.
Alerts were then launched in 130 countries, allowing the authorities to trace the source of salmonella from the Ferrero factory in Belgium, continued the Belgian media.
Last September, the factory finally received authorization to reopen its doors, after having had its license withdrawn by the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA) following the event.
Fortunately, what could have become a “global epidemic”, according to the ECDC expert, was avoided thanks to the interdisciplinary collaboration between microbiologists, epidemiologists and food safety experts.