Ministry of Public Health issued a statement on Friday saying that “Minister Firas Abiad has addressed a letter to Economy and Trade Minister Amin Salam, requesting that the Ferrero Company’s manufactured “Kinder” chocolate products be withdrawn from the Lebanese market in wake of alerts from the international network of authorities concerned with food safety (INFOSAN), affiliated to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), reporting that the company's products were contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.
“In order to preserve public health, the Minister of Health sent a letter to the Economy Ministry, which has the authority, to withdraw food products from the Lebanese market as quickly as possible, provided that a subsequent letter is sent as soon as the complete lists of numbers of contaminated mixtures are received,” the statement said.
In this context, Ferrero, the Italian company that is considered among the giants in the food industry, issued a statement denouncing the existence of “internal loopholes”, and indicating that it has “suspended the work of its factory that produces ‘Kinder’ chocolate in Arlon, Belgium, after its products were suspected of causing salmonella infections.”
As a result, “Kinder” chocolate products were withdrawn from the markets of the United States and many European and Arab countries.