The investigation by the Belgian justice into the poisoning of salmonella that splashes Ferrero Advances. This Wednesday, six searches were made in Luxembourg and Belgium.
One of the raids was conducted at the Arlon factory in southern Belgium by police. This is where the scandal that resulted in the withdrawal of thousands upon thousands of tons of Kinder products began. The factory was closed by the health authorities on April 8. It has not been reopened since. In April, the entire Kinder range (Kinder Surprise and Kinder Mini Eggs as well as Kinder Surprise Maxi 100g, Kinder Schoko-Bons and Kinder Surprise Maxi 100g) was recalled.
Arlon is not the only one being searched. Two other searches are also underway in Brussels and three in Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, where the group was founded in Italy. Anne-Sophie Guilmot spoke for the Belgian provincial prosecutor's Office. Luxemburg. She said that documents and computer equipment were taken but no arrests were made. No one has been arrested at this point.
An Arlon judge has been leading the investigation since April 19. It aims to establish who is responsible for this contamination and what communication issues there may have been to the authorities. The statement stated that it targets "traceability obligations in food chains", "breaches to the legal provisions regarding safety and hygiene of foodtuffs", and "involuntary body harm".
When salmonella was detected at the Ferrero Group's Arlon facility on December 15, the Ferrero group delayed notifying authorities and recalling products. According to the multinational, the contamination was caused by a filter in a dairy butter tank. Mid-April saw 150 cases of salmonellosis in nine European countries, including France. Most were children younger than ten years. Salmonellosis can cause symptoms similar to acute gastroenteritis. These include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, mild fever and even vomiting. There have been no deaths.
SA Ferrero Ardennes is the main target of the investigation. They operate Arlon's plant. According to the prosecution, the investigation also targeted the Grand Duchy's subsidiaries "Ferrero International SA", Ferrero Trading Lux SA, and Ferrero Management Services Luxembourg."
