A Nutella factory in Normandy has been shut down as a precaution after “quality issues” were found in samples of the chocolate-hazelnut spread and Kinder Bueno candy bars, Italian parent company Ferrero reported Wednesday.
The factory in Villers-Ecalles, France, produces about one-quarter of the world’s Nutella, about 600,000 jars a day. After the unspecified quality issue was discovered, production was temporarily halted for investigations, which should conclude by the end of this week.
“For now, we can say that no product currently on the market is affected by the situation and that the supply of our customers continues uninterrupted,” Ferrero said in a statement.
People are very serious about their Nutella. The Local reports people in France consume about 100 million jars each year. Ferrero has 22 factories employing 30,000 people worldwide, and has doubled its sales in the past years to more than €10 billion ($11.4 billion). Last January, a 70% discount on the price of Nutella led to riots in French supermarkets.
