Ferrero’s Kinder Salmonella Crisis
What happened?
Ferrero, one of the largest chocolate companies, with immense market share and widespread reputation, encountered a crisis at the beginning of April, which caused it to recall Kinder Surprise products in the United Kingdom over an association with cases of salmonella. The outbreak of infections started in the Ferrero factory in Arlon, Belgium, and as many people stated ‘’It was not handled well’’.
More specifically, on Friday 8 April, the food safety authority in Belgium assessed that the factory was not able to guarantee the safety of its products, and as a result “the authorization for production was withdrawn”.
In addition, Ferrero voluntarily recalled some of its Kinder chocolates from the American shelves. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak affected seven EU countries (France, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway) and Britain, with the outbreak “characterized by an unusually high percentage of hospitalized children”.
What caused the salmonella outbreak?
European health officials investigating the salmonella outbreak linked to Kinder products have said they suspect it is related to buttermilk used in a Belgian factory. This outbreak is rapidly evolving, and children have so far been most at risk for severe infection among reported cases. The recalls and withdrawals launched worldwide will reduce the risk of further infections. A “Rapid Outbreak Assessment” released by the European Food Safety Authority and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said they had matched the same salmonella strain currently infecting people to samples taken from a factory in Belgium last December.
‘’A vital part of a recall is estimating the consequences of the company’s crisis communication efforts. ‘’
How did the company cope with the crisis?
Although Ferrero claims they had taken all the required precautionary measures, they admit that they had “internal failures”. Every statement was attributed to Ferrero as a whole, with no company spokespeople mentioned in the controversy. Furthermore, the first salmonella cases were registered in the UK as early as last December, the company was slow to react and didn’t inform any food safety authorities promptly, which indicates prominent flaws in Ferrero’s crisis communication strategy.
The contaminations were also first reported by the authorities rather than by the chocolate maker itself, which allowed food safety agencies, such as UK’s Food Standards Agency and the European Food Safety Authority, to control the narrative.
Ferrero Statements
In a statement a Ferrero spokesperson said: ‘’ We deeply regret this matter and would like to thank authorities for the ongoing collaboration and recommendations. We take food safety extremely seriously and every step we have taken has been guided by our commitment to consumer care.’’
The company said: ‘’Thanks to the collaboration with several food safety and public health authorities in Europe, Ferrero acquired new data showing a genotype match between reported salmonella cases in Europe and our plant in Arlon, Belgium.’’
‘’Within the framework of our analysis plan, the presence of salmonella was detected on the 15th of December. After, a deep investigation, the point of the origin was identified to be a filter at the outlet of two raw material tanks. The matter is currently being investigated together with food safety authorities.’’ [1]
The manufacturer now defends itself: “We have followed all procedures. Our protocols have been externally validated and certified. We continue to investigate why people have become ill”, spokeswoman Laurence Evrard said, assuring that the production is now safe. “Since we discovered the problem, we have increased the number of checks. We check more than officially required. Since January we have already carried out 2,000 checks. We do not find any salmonella in our factory or in our products.”
Media Coverage
The story was widely covered in the media with a predominantly negative sentiment, speaking of “a salmonella crisis” that is “sweeping Europe”. Moreover, governments and consumer organizations condemn Ferrero for a lack of communication.
Tina Potter, one of the most influential spokespeople, head of incidents at the Food Standards Agency, and David Clarinval, Belgian Agriculture Minister, announced the closure of a Kinder chocolate factory in Belgium.
In conclusion, Ferrero could have handled the crisis more effectively by maintaining consumer trust to reinforce its reputation. If a similar crisis arises in the future, they should activate the right spokespeople and prioritize affected consumers.
[1] https://www.confectionerynews.com/Article/2022/04/11/Kinder-salmonella-cases-Ferrero-expands-recall-to-include-US market?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright
Sources:
By Genεsis team:
