Salmonella bacteria have been discovered at the world’s largest chocolate plant, run by Swiss giant Barry Callebaut in the Belgian city of Wieze, the company said on Thursday.
A company spokesman told Agence France-Presse that production had stopped at the factory, which produces bulk chocolate in bulk for 73 customers who make pastry.
“All products manufactured since the test have been blocked,” spokesman Korneel Warlop said.
“Barry Callebaut is in touch with all customers who have received contaminated products. Chocolate production at Wieze remains suspended until further notice.”
Most of the products that are found to be contaminated are still in place, he said.
But the company has contacted all its customers and asked them not to send any products they have made with chocolate made since June 25 to this plant in Wieze, located in Flanders, in the north. west of Brussels.
The Belgian food safety agency AFSCA has been informed and a spokesman told AFP it had opened an investigation.
Wieze’s plant doesn’t make chocolates to sell directly to consumers and the company says it has no reason to believe any contaminated products made by customers have hit store shelves.
The fright comes a few weeks after a case of salmonella-contaminated chocolates at the Ferrero factory in Arlon, southern Belgium, which makes Kinder chocolates.
Belgian health authorities announced on June 17 that they had given the green light to restart the Italian giant’s factory for a three-month trial period.
The Swiss group Barry Callebaut supplies cocoa and chocolate products to many companies in the food industry, such as industry giants such as Hershey, Mondelez, Nestlé or Unilever.
World number one in the sector, its annual sales amounted to 2.2 million tons during the year 2020-2021.
During the last financial year, the group, which is headquartered in Zurich, generated a net profit of 384.5 million Swiss francs ($ 402 million).
The group employs more than 13,000 people, has more than 60 production sites worldwide.
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