Swiss food giant Nestle said on Saturday a huge shipment of KitKat chocolate, weighing around 12 tons, had been stolen last week.

The company said the truck carrying 413,793 bars of its new chocolate range set off from its production facility in central Italy and was on its way to Poland when it disappeared.

Nestle did not reveal where exactly ​the truck was lost.

As of afternoon Saturday, the whereabouts of the ​vehicle and the merchandise remain unknown.

The thieves took off with nearly 414,000 bars of chocolate Image: Dominic Lipinski/empics/picture alliance

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"We've always encouraged people to have a break with KitKat," a spokesperson for the brand said, referring to the product's advertising slogan.

"But it seems thieves have taken the message too literally and made a break with more than 12 tons of our chocolate."

The firm said the heist could result in shortages of the crunchy bars — made of wafer covered with chocolate — on supermarket shelves in some…