EUROPEAN HEALTH OFFICIALS investigating the salmonella outbreak linked to Kinder chocolate products have said they suspect it is related to buttermilk used in a Belgian factory.

A “Rapid Outbreak Assessment” released by the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said they had matched the same salmonella strain currently infecting people to samples taken from a factory in Belgium last December.

The report said “the processing step involving buttermilk was identified as the possible contamination point”, and hygiene measures were implemented.

It said the factory “distributed the implicated chocolate products across Europe and globally after negative Salmonella testing”.

The report says 15 people in Ireland fell ill in connection with the salmonella outbreak and five of them were hospitalised.

Authorities have previously named the company involved as the Italian chocolate firm Ferrero.

On 8 April, the food safety authority in Belgium assessed that the factory was not able to guarantee the safety of its products, and as a result “the authorisation for production was withdrawn”.

The report said: “This outbreak is rapidly evolving, and children have so far been most at risk for severe infection among reported cases.

“The recalls and withdrawals launched worldwide will reduce the risk of further infections.

“However, further investigations are needed at the production site to identify the root cause, timing, and possible factors behind the contamination, including the evaluation of the possibility of the wider use of contaminated raw material in other processing plants.”

A UK recall of Kinder chocolate products was extended on Friday to include all of those manufactured at the Belgium site since June, regardless of their best-before date.

The previous recall only covered products with best-before dates up to 7 October 2022.

The recall was related to the same products – Kinder Surprise, Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Surprise 100g and Kinder Schokobons – announced earlier in the week.

Ferrero also said it was suspending operations at its plant in Arlon, which it said will only reopen “once certified by the authorities”.

The firm said it acknowledged “internal inefficiencies, creating delays in retrieving and sharing information in a timely manner” and said these had “impacted the speed and effectiveness of the investigations”.

Last week the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) issued an additional recall on Kinder products due to the outbreak.

The most common symptom of salmonella food poisoning is diarrhoea, which can be bloody. Other symptoms include fever, headaches and abdominal cramps.

Additional reporting from Céimin Burke