BPOM Stops Selling Kinder Products At 6 Modern Retailers In Palu

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PALU - The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) in Palu found that six modern retailers in Palu City, Central Sulawesi (Sulteng) still sell Kinder products.

Based on these findings, BPOM in Palu ordered the modern retail manager to stop selling various Kinder products for an undetermined time following the potential contamination of Salmonella bacteria contained in the processed chocolate food product.

"Of the 10 modern retailers that we monitored today, we found six retailers selling Kinder products with a total of 470 pieces. We have requested that these products be removed from the sales window and retail managers stop selling them until they are declared safe based on the BPOM risk assessment," said the Head of BPOM. Palu Agus Riyanto, reported by Antara, Tuesday, April 12.

Agus appealed that if there are still business actors or modern retail managers who sell Kinder products, he asked them to temporarily stop their sales in order to maintain public health.

Previously, the Indonesian Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) temporarily suspended the circulation of Kinder brand products in Indonesia because it required laboratory testing related to the potential for Salmonella bacterial contamination.

"BPOM will temporarily stop the circulation of Kinder brand products, until it is confirmed that the product does not contain Salmonella bacteria contamination," said a written statement quoted from the official website www.pom.go.id and confirmed to the Head of Public Relations Bureau of BPOM RI Noorman Effendi in Jakarta. , Monday (11/4).

In the statement, it was explained that BPOM would conduct random sampling and testing throughout Indonesia for registered Kinder brand products.

The activity was carried out in connection with the issuance of a public warning by the UK's (Food Standard Agency/FSA) regarding the recall of Kinder Surprise brand chocolate products. A number of countries in Europe have also followed a similar policy, including Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

On 2 April 2022, the UK FSA issued a public warning regarding the voluntary recall of Kinder Surprise brand chocolate products because it was suspected to be contaminated with Salmonella (non-thypoid) bacteria which can trigger mild symptoms such as diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps for consumers.

The victims affected were reported as 63 children, although they did not cause death.

BPOM stated that the recalled products were Kinder Surprise brand chocolate in single packs of 20 grams and triple packs of 20 grams each, with an expiration date for each product up to October 7, 2022.

The UK has also expanded the scope of product recalls by adding several variants, namely Kinder Surprise in 100 grams, Kinder Mini Eggs in 75 grams, Kinder Egg Hunt Kit in 150 grams, and Kinder Schokobons in 200 grams with an expiration date from April 20 to August 21, 2022. The policy acts as a precautionary principle on all Kinder chocolate products manufactured by Ferrero NV/SA in Belgium.

In the statement, BPOM ensured that all Kinder brand chocolate products recalled in the UK were not registered with BPOM RI.

Kinder brand products registered with the POM come from India with product variant names including Kinder Joy, Kinder Joy for Boys, and Kinder Joy for Girls. The product is manufactured by Ferrero India PVP, LTD.

To protect the public by prioritizing the precautionary principle, BPOM will conduct tests using random samples throughout Indonesia on registered Kinder brand products.

BPOM urges the public to report to BPOM through the HALOBPOM Contact Center or the Consumer Complaints Service Unit (ULPK) at Balai Besar / Balai / Loka POM throughout Indonesia if they find Kinder brand chocolate products that are not registered with BPOM.

BPOM also urges the public to be smart consumers and not easily influenced by circulating issues. Always do a CLICK Check (Package Check, Label Check, Marketing Permit Check, and Expiration Check) before buying or consuming food products.