The Swiss food giant Nestle, owner of the KitKat brand, announced that a shipment of approximately 12 tons of chocolate has been stolen in Europe. The company warned that this could cause a shortage in stores just a week before Easter. In a statement, KitKat said: "A truck transporting 413,793 pieces of our new chocolate assortment was stolen while transiting through Europe." The company explained that the shipment disappeared last week while being moved between production and distribution sites, expressing concern that this "could lead to a shortage of KitKat bars on the shelves." The shipment departed from central Italy and was heading to Poland to be distributed in the countries it crossed. KitKat did not specify the location where the shipment was lost, but confirmed that "the vehicle and its contents are still missing," and an investigation is ongoing to determine the circumstances. The company warned that the missing chocolate bars "may be offered through unofficial sales channels in European markets," noting that the stolen products can be traced by scanning the code on each item. It added: "If a match is found, the scanner will receive clear instructions on how to report it to KitKat, which will then pass this information on to the appropriate authorities."
