Belgium's food safety authority AFSCA announced Friday that it has ordered Ferrero to stop production at its factory in the country due to a salmonella outbreak.
"The agency is today withdrawing the authorization of the Ferrero production plant in Arlon. The entire Kinder range of products from Ferrero's Arlon production site is also being recalled," AFSCA said.
Ferrero had not provided sufficient information to its investigation, AFSCA said.
All products from the factory must be recalled regardless of their production date, the statement continued.
This includes all Kinder Surprise, Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Surprise Maxi and Schoko-Bons manufactured in Arlon, according to the statement. AFSCA also asked all distributors to remove the relevant products from retail outlets.
The Arlon plant would not be allowed to reopen until all food safety rules and requirements were met, AFSCA said.
The Italian confectionery group has already recalled several chocolate products from the United States, Australia and multiple European countries.
Meanwhile, Ferrero issued an apology, acknowledging internal failures after Belgian authorities ordered the closure.
Italy's Ferrero "acknowledges there were internal failures" and said it "profoundly regrets" and "sincerely apologises" for the spate of cases of salmonella and a massive recall just ahead of the Easter holiday.
