A widely shared post on Facebook claims to show images of Ferrero chocolate eggs that are part of a product recall “for traces of salmonella and maggots”.
In fact, the eggs in the picture are not affected by a product recall. The manufacturer, Ferrero, has recalled some other products, all from its Kinder range, because salmonella was detected in the factory where they were made, but “maggots” were not involved.
The chocolate eggs in the picture appear to have been made in Italy, going by better-quality photographs obtained by the US fact checker Snopes, but only Ferrero products made in a factory in Belgium are affected by the recall. This factory makes about 7% of the world’s Kinder products each year.
A Ferrero spokesperson told Snopes that the spots or circles in the chocolate in the picture appear to be “granini”, an effect of oils and sugar separating when the product undergoes temperature changes.
Snopes reported that the person who originally wrote this post has since deleted it.
Photograph by Tiia Monto