The company announced Thursday that the bacteria Salmonella was discovered at the world’s largest chocolate plant. It is run by Barry Callebaut, a Swiss giant based in Wieze.
A spokesperson for the company told Agence France-Presse that production at the factory had been halted. The factory produces liquid chocolate in wholesale quantities for 73 confectionary clients.
Korneel Warlop, a spokesperson for the company, stated that “all products manufactured after the test have been stopped”.
“Barry Callebaut is currently in contact with all customers who may be contaminated by contaminated products. Bis further notice, chocolate production in Wieze is still suspended
He said that most of the products found to be contaminated were still on the site.
The company has reached out to all of its customers and requested that they not ship any products made with chocolate from the Wieze plant in Flanders (northwest of Brussels).
Belgia’s Food Safety Agency AFSCA was informed. A spokesperson for the agency told AFP that it had opened an investigation.
The Wieze plant does not make chocolates that can be sold directly to customers. Furthermore, the company claims it has no reason for clients to have sold contaminated goods onto store shelves.
This scare follows a few weeks ago a case in which chocolates were contaminated with salmonella at the Ferrero factory, Arlon in southern Belgium. The Ferrero factory also produces Kinder chocolates.
On June 17, the Belgian health authorities declared that they had approved the restart of the factory by the Italian giant for a three month test period.
Barry Callebaut, a Swiss company, supplies chocolate and cocoa products to many food companies, including giants like Unilever, Mondelez, Nestle, and Hershey.
It was the world’s number one sector company, with an annual sales of 2.2 million tonnes in the 2020-2021 financial years.
The group’s head office is located in Zurich and generated a net profit worth 384.5 million Swiss Francs ($402 millions) during the last financial year.
The company employs over 13,000 people and has more than 60 production locations worldwide.
