A three-year-old boy "looked dead" after he was hospitalised with suspected salmonella poisoning from a Kinder egg, his mother says.
It follows an international recall of Kinder chocolate by confectionery giant Ferrero after the products were linked to salmonella contamination at a factory in Belgium. New Zealand has been included in the recall, which was expanded on Tuesday to include additional products.
In Wales, mum of two Kasey Cooke told The Mirror that her son Billy became violently sick after eating his brother's Kinder Surprise chocolate last month. She said doctors feared he could fall into a coma due to his dangerously low blood sugar levels.
Cooke said her older son Ajay got a pack of three Kinder eggs for his birthday, but since he isn't a chocolate fan she gave one to Billy.
"He was excited to eat the chocolate and have the toy inside. But a few days later he started being sick a lot," she said.
"He couldn't keep anything down and couldn't even hold his weight on his feet."
Cooke took Billy to the GP, but he was so sick that they sent him straight to hospital.
"They were worried he could have gone into a coma as his blood sugar was so low," she said.
"It was terrible. It wasn't worth it for an egg."
Billy was admitted to a children's hospital in Cardiff and kept on a drip for four days.
"When I sent my family a picture of him in hospital, their response was that he looked dead," Cooke said.
"He looked like he was dying, his mouth was dry, his face was pale and his eyes were black and sunken. He didn't sit up for a week.
"He was so poorly and lifeless. They struggled for a couple of days to keep his blood sugar levels high as they kept dropping. I was petrified."
Initially, she didn't believe that the Kinder egg was the cause of Billy's illness. It was only after her friends told her about the recall that Cooke realised his symptoms matched salmonella poisoning.
"I think it's careless that salmonella got into the eggs, especially when the main consumer of the product is kids."
Cooke fears that the ordeal has had a lasting impact on Billy, saying that he now asks if chocolate will make him feel sick whenever he goes to eat some.
She has also vowed to never let her two children near a Kinder product again.
A Ferrero spokesperson told The Mirror that they were sorry to hear about Billy's situation and their thoughts were with Cooke and her family.
