Kinder Joy products safe, says Kebs
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has allayed fears over contamination of Kinder Joy chocolates being sold in shops across the country.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) has allayed fears over contamination of Kinder Joy chocolates being sold in shops across the country.
The move by Kebs comes days after a European food safety agency flagged products sold by Italian candy maker Ferrero in Europe and the US.
The European Food Safety Authority early this month said it had detected about 134 salmonella cases especially among children likely caused by consumption of Kinder Joy chocolates that were contaminated with the bacteria.
The bacteria, which causes fever, nausea, diarrhoea, cramping and vomiting, mostly live in animal and human intestines and are passed through faecal matter.
Ferrero recalled its products including Kinder Happy Moments Milk Chocolate, Kinder Mix Chocolate Treats Basket, and Crispy Wafers Assortment.
The firm later extended the recall to include all Kinder products manufactured at their Arlon site in Belgium between June and the present date, including Kinder Surprise, Kinder Mini Eggs, Kinder Surprise 100g and Kinder Schokobons.
Now, Kebs Managing Director Bernard Njiraini says the safety agency’s investigations has found “no evidence” that any of the recalled products have been imported into the country.
Mr Njiraini said the Kinder products stocked locally were shipped in from India and Italy as opposed to Belgium which has been identified as the origin of contamination of the chocolate products.
“The Kinder variants sold locally are sourced from Italy and India, as the countries of origin, not Belgium – the country that has been identified as the source of the contaminated variants,” said Mr Njiraini.
It said 31 samples of the products collected from local retail outlets showed no Salmonella contamination and that the products were safe for consumption.
“To ensure the safety and health of product consumers across the country, KEBS will in the interim continue to carry out precautionary measures on the Kinder products and target the same for further surveillance based on the widespread global concerns,” said the agency.
