The chocolate factory just across the Belgian border has had to halt part of its production after discovering residues of salmonella on their production line.

In an interview on Thursday with news agency AFP, a Ferrero spokesperson explained that they “have stopped their entire production”, after they found the bacteria in the Belgian factory at the end of June.

She stated that the impacted production lines are set to be cleaned in the next two weeks. The production halt is also only a precautionary measure, as they have yet to find salmonella in a finished product.

Last year in April the same plant in Arlon was forced to shut down and they had to recall thousands of products. After strict inspections they were able to open again in September.

Suspected of having been slow to react to a problem identified in December 2021, Ferrero has been the target of legal investigations in Belgium and France.

Throughout Europe in 2022 there were at least 125 cases of children that got ill after they ate Kinder Surprise chocolate. Salmonella causes symptoms similar to those of acute gastroenteritis: diarrhoea and abdominal cramps, slight fever, even vomiting. No deaths had been reported.

The Arlon factory was given the green light to resume production back in September 2022. No subsequent cases have been reported.

The Luxembourgish health ministry has confirmed that there hasn’t been a detected case of salmonella in Luxembourg so far. They also have not been informed of any issues at Ferrero from their Belgian counterpart.