What does the Kinder Product Recall mean for manufacturers?
In April 2022, chocolate and confectionary giant Ferrero stated it was recalling a selection of its Kinder products and urged the public to not eat the affected products it listed. This is after the company became aware of these products potentially being related to several reported cases of salmonella.
Salmonella can be especially risky for young children which these products are aimed at, so the situation was very serious.
The affected products were manufactured at the Arlon factory in Belgium, which is involved in a wide range of food production. Some, which were intended for just the European market and have already been recalled in Europe, have been imported into the UK by importers that are not related to Ferrero.
Which Kinder products have been recalled?
- Kinder Surprise 20g, with best before dates going up to and including 7th October 2022.
- Kinder Surprise 20g x3, best before dates 7th October
- Kinder Mini eggs 75g, with best before dates between 20th April 2022 and up to 21st August 2022
- Kinder Egg Hunt Kit 150g, best before dates between 20th April and 21st August 2022
- Kinder Surprise 100g, best before dates between 20th April and 21st August 2022
- Kinder Schokobons 200g, best before dates between 20th April and 21st August 2022
What does the recall mean for manufacturers?
Manufacturers and anyone who works in food engineering should always have systems and strict procedures in place to maintain a high standard of hygiene. Food safety is a key concern, and it starts at the top with those who are producing the products we consume every day.
As we have seen with Ferrero and other big companies, even the slightest of mistakes can have big consequences. Cross contamination in this way can not only make people sick, but it can also tarnish the reputation of a company which it might not be able to recover from.
The Kinder recall should give other manufacturers in the food industry both large and small to look at how they are working in terms of food security and see if there are any areas that could be improved upon. This will help to ensure that you don’t have a similar incident to Ferrero.
High standards of cleanliness and hygiene need to be part of the foundations of your food processing operations and followed through regularly without fail. You should also consider the safety of your equipment, is everything working as effectively as it should? Are there any risks of something going wrong in your machinery that would negatively impact the food you are producing? It is questions like these that FESS Group can help you answer.
What can we do?
Our food engineering consultants are on hand to help companies to effectively maintain their premises and instil important practices of health and safety for food manufacturers. Additionally, they can engineer high hygiene standards and longevity into the plant from the very beginning. This will reduce the risk of any food safety issues and minimise the level of servicing that is needed. Contact us today to find out more about what we can do to help you.