Belgium
Salmonella in chocolate factory: Callebaut stops production
Exterior shot of the Barry Callebaut factory in Wieze. Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut has shut down production at its Wieze factory following the discovery of salmonella. Photo: Nicolas Maeterlinck/BELGA/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut supplies its products to commercial customers for further processing. Salmonella have now been found in a plant in Wieze and production has been stopped.
Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut has found salmonella at a plant in Wieze, Belgium. Production was stopped and delivery interrupted, as the Swiss company announced on Thursday.
The company is a leading global supplier of chocolate and cocoa products. They are supplied to commercial customers for further processing, which is why the “Barry Callebaut” brand is less well known.
The salmonella bacteria, which can cause severe diarrhea, were found in lecithin, which is used in all of its products, according to the company on Monday. The Belgian food safety authority FAVV was informed immediately. The company assumes that the few quantities that have been delivered since Monday have not yet been processed and sold to customers anywhere, said company spokesman Frank Keidel. The investigations were still ongoing.
Barry Callebaut supplies patisseries, bakeries, the catering industry and beverage manufacturers, for example. The company, with over 12,000 employees in more than 40 countries, describes itself as the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products.
The plant in Wieze also supplies German customers. The company did not say whether any of the contaminated chocolate mass was delivered to Germany. The factory will be cleaned and disinfected. That should take a few days, said Keidel.