Following an investigation and epidemiological study into the scandal of salmonella-contaminated Ferrero chocolate, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded on Tuesday 12 April that chocolate products produced by the company at its processing plant in Belgium are the likely vectors of the monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium infection.
The scientific opinion on the multi-country salmonella outbreak, published the same day in the EFSA journal, does not mention the name of the company and refers to the situation as of 8 April, when 150 cases (119 confirmed and 31 probable) had been reported in nine EU/EEA countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden) and the USA.
The outbreak is rapidly evolving and children have so far been the most at risk of serious infection among the reported cases, the two European authorities confirm, saying that the worldwide recalls and withdrawals will reduce the risk of further infections.
However, the ECDC and EFSA consider that further investigations are needed at the production site to identify the root cause, timing and possible factors behind the contamination, including assessing the possibility of the wider use of contaminated raw materials in other processing plants.
On 8 April, in a rapid outbreak assessment, the ECDC and EFSA warned that most cases are children under 10 years of age, many of whom have been hospitalised, and that some cases may go undetected as molecular typing is not routinely carried out in all countries.
See the scientific opinion: https://aeur.eu/f/18j (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)