Head of the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) Penny K Lukito has asked the public to immediately report to the agency if they still find Kinder brand chocolate products circulating in the market.
“The number is Halo BPOM 1500533. There are a lot of lists; if you still find it in circulation, we will come down later to take action,” said Lukito through the agency’s YouTube channel on Thursday 14th April 2022.
The withdrawal of Kinder Joy chocolate products has been carried out by businesses who had distribution permits and were supervised and accompanied by the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency throughout Indonesia.
“We ask and require businesses who have distribution permits to contact their distributors to make withdrawals on their own, voluntarily, and they themselves are supervised by us,” she added.
Lukito explained that the temporary withdrawal of Kinder Joy chocolate was carried out with careful consideration and it won’t be sold until it is confirmed safe from Salmonella bacteria. Therefore, she asked the public not to buy and consume Kinder brand chocolate products.
“If it turns out that, based on the sampling, there is no indication of contamination, there is no Salmonella bacteria at all in the sample being tested, we will release it again and we will inform you,” she said.
Furthermore, testing and random sampling of Kinder Joy chocolate products have been carried out since last week. The results of the tests will be announced in the third week of April.
Previously, BPOM stated that the recall of Kinder brand chocolate will be carried out until it is confirmed that the product did not contain Salmonella bacteria contamination
“The Food and Drug Supervisory Agency also oversees and ensures the withdrawal from circulation is carried out in accordance with applicable procedures,” read a written statement from the agency received by Kompas.com on Monday 11th April.
The temporary suspension of product distribution was carried out with the principle of prudence, even though the Kinder brand chocolate that was recalled in European countries was different from the Kinder brand chocolate registered with BPOM.
Kinder brand products registered with the agency originate 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.
“BPOM will conduct random sampling and testing throughout Indonesia on registered Kinder brand products,” continued BPOM’s written statement.