Demandan a Ferrero y a Nestlé por intoxicación en Francia / France Salmonella outbreak linked to Kinder chocolate hits 81

CHOCOLATE KINDER (FERRERO) Y PIZZAS CONGELADAS BUITONI

Dos demandas penales fueron presentadas este jueves 19 de mayo en Francia contra los gigantes de la alimentación Ferrero y Nestlé debido a los casos de intoxicación grave por la presunta ingesta de productos de chocolate Kinder (Ferrero) y de las pizzas congeladas Buitoni (Nestlé).

Así lo anunció la ONG Food Watch después de que a partir de marzo se declarasen varios casos de intoxicación por la bacteria E.Coli, en el caso de las pizzas precocinadas, y de salmonela en el de los chocolates.

Hasta momento, se han contabilizado 56 personas enfermas -con una media de edad de siete años- por haber ingerido productos de Buitoni. De entre ellos, dos niños murieron después de comer la gama de pizzas Fraich’Up.

Asimismo, 81 personas resultaron contaminadas con salmonela -con una media de edad de cuatro años- por culpa de los huevos Kinder de Ferrero, de las que 22 tuvieron que ser hospitalizadas.

France Salmonella outbreak linked to Kinder chocolate hits 81

Ferrero proceeded on April 5, 2022 to the recall of several Kinder range products manufactured in a factory in Belgium due to suspected contamination by Salmonella Typhimurium . On April 8, 2022, the recall finally affected all Kinder products from this factory, regardless of their expiry date. On April 14, 2022, an update of the recalled products, including the 2021 Christmas Advent Calendars, was released.

Following the investigations carried out by the Belgian health authorities, together with their English, European and in particular French counterparts, the company Ferrero proceeded on April 5, 2022 to the recall of several Kinder range products manufactured in a factory in Belgium due to suspected contamination by Salmonella Typhimurium . On April 8, 2022, the recall finally affected all Kinder products from this factory, regardless of their expiry date. On April 14, 2022, an update of the recalled products, including the 2021 Christmas Advent Calendars, was released.

In total, as of 05/04/2022: 81 cases of salmonellosis with a strain belonging to the epidemic have been identified by the National Reference Center (CNR) for salmonella at the Institut Pasteur in France.

The 81 cases are spread over 12 regions (Grand-Est (14 cases), Ile-De-France (13 cases), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (13 cases), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (11 cases), Hauts-de-France (8 cases), Normandy (5 cases), Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (4 cases), New Aquitaine (4 cases), Occitanie (4 cases), Brittany (3 cases), Pays de la Loire (1 case) and Corsica (1 case)), with a median age of 4 years, and concern 42 girls and 39 boys.

Fifty-one cases were interviewed by Public Health France. All the cases, except 1, report, before the onset of their symptoms (which occurred between 20/01 and 04/04/2022), the consumption of chocolates of the brand cited here.

Twenty-two people were hospitalized for their salmonellosis, all discharged since. No deaths were reported.

The foods in question having been identified and the management measures taken, the weekly situation updates are drawn up. Public Health France continues to monitor the reporting of cases by the NR, which are expected due to the different delays inherent in monitoring ( see the infographic dedicated to food alerts ).

As of 04/22/22, According to EU health officials: The outbreak is characterized by an unusually high proportion of children being hospitalized, some with severe clinical symptoms such as bloody diarrhea. Based on interviews with patients and initial analytical epidemiological studies, specific chocolate products (Kinder) have been identified as the likely route of infection. Affected cases have been identified through advanced molecular typing techniques. As this method of testing is not routinely performed in all countries, some cases may be undetected.

Kinder chocolate product recalls have been launched globally and examples of these can be found on several countries web sites including Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and the UK. The recalls aim to prevent the consumption of products potentially contaminated with Salmonella. Further investigations are being conducted by public health and food safety authorities in countries where cases are reported, to identify the cause and the extent of the contamination, and to ensure contaminated products are not put on the market.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 25 April 2022, a total of 151 genetically related cases of S. Typhimurium suspected to be linked to the consumption of the implicated chocolate products have been reported from 11 countries (Figure 1): Belgium (26 cases), France (25 cases), Germany (10 cases), Ireland (15 cases), Luxembourg (1 case), the Netherlands (2 cases), Norway (1 case), Spain (1 case), Sweden (4 cases), the United Kingdom (65 cases) and the United States of America (1 case).
By Bill Marler