Supermarket Chain Recalls Chocolate Advent Calendars Due to Health Risk

The Lidl supermarket chain said the affected products were available for sale at its stores from Oct. 12 through Dec. 5.

Supermarket chain Lidl has issued a voluntary recall of its Favorina 8.4-ounce premium chocolate Advent calendar due to possible salmonella contamination, 

The product packaging is shaped like a house and depicts an image of Santa Claus in a reindeer sleigh loaded with presents in front of a Christmas tree and a large home, according to a company announcement posted on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website Dec. 6.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail and elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Healthy people infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. 

The issue was discovered during routine testing. As of Dec. 6, Lidl said it had not received reports of any illnesses associated with the recall. 

The affected units were available for sale at Lidl stores from Oct. 12 through Dec. 5. They will have a “Best if Used By” year of 2023 and a barcode number of 4056489516965.

Serious Symptoms 

Customers who have questions about the recall are advised to call the Lidl US Customer Care Hotline at 1-844-747-5435.

Lidl US said that it regretted any inconvenience related to this voluntary recall

In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis.

Symptoms usually begin six hours to six days after infection and last four to seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control. 

Some people do not develop symptoms for several weeks after infection and others experience symptoms for several weeks.

The CDC estimated that in the U.S. salmonella causes about 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths every year.

Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and is celebrated on each successive Sunday leading up to Christmas. This year advent began on Nov. 27 and ends on Christmas Eve.

An Advent calendar is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. The Advent calendar was first used by German Lutherans in the 19th and 20th centuries, and since has been adopted by other Christian denominations.

A Holiday Tradition

Traditional Advent calendars feature the manger scene, Saint Nicholas and winter weather. Many Advent calendars take the form of a large rectangular card with "Doors," one for each day of December leading up to and including Christmas Eve or Christmas Day

Consecutive doors are opened every day leading up to Christmas, beginning on the start of the Advent season for that year

The world's largest advent calendar was built in 2007 at the St. Pancras train station in London, according to Guinness World Records.

The massive calendar, which measured 232 feet and 11 inches tall, and 75 feet and 5 inches wide, celebrated the reopening of the station following a renovation.

Based in Germany, Lidl operates more than 12,000 stores and is active in 32 countries, with more than 360,000 employees. The company established its U.S. headquarters in Arlington County, Va., in June 2015,

Lidl, which opened its first store in 1973, is part of Schwarz Group, the world's fifth-largest retailer.

The company has a zero-waste, no-frills, "pass-the-savings-to-the-consumer" approach of displaying most products in their original delivery cartons.