Belgium: Salmonella Bacteria Found In World's Largest Chocolate Plant

After it was discovered all of Callebaut's clients who may have received contaminated products have been asked not to ship out any products made since June 25.

Callebaut had halted chocolate production at its Wieze factory, after salmonella was found in a batch on June 26.

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New Delhi: Salmonella bacteria have been discovered in the world’s biggest chocolate factory in the Belgian town of Wieze according to Agence France Presse report. It is run by Swiss giant Barry Callebaut. The spokesperson of the firm informed the news agency that production at the factory has been halted. 

"All products manufactured since the test have been blocked," spokesman Korneel Warlop said, as reported by AFP. 

Warlop added that Barry Callebaut is contacting all its customers who may have received contaminated products. In Wieze, the production of chocolate has been suspended until further notice. He added that all of the contaminated chocolate remains on site.

However, Callebaut has asked all its clients not to ship any products they have made with chocolate since June 25 at the Wieze plant, in Brussels.

The food security department of Belgium Agence Fédérale pour la Sécurité de la Chaîne Alimentaire, AFCA was informed and a spokesperson told AFP that an investigation has been opened. 

According to the report, Callebaut produces liquid chocolate for at least 73 clients. The company doesn’t directly sell to consumers so it doesn’t have any reason to believe that any contaminated goods made by clients have made it to shop shelves yet.

A similar scare of salmonella bacteria was reported a few weeks ago, in the Ferrero factory in Arlon in southern Belgium manufacturing Kinder chocolates. On June 17, the Italian giant’s factory was given the green light to start operations again, for a three-month test period.

Swiss group Barry Callebaut supplies cocoa and chocolate products to many companies in the food industry, including industry giants Hershey, Mondelez, Nestle and Unilever. According to AFP, Callebaut is the world’s number one in this sector, during the 2020-2021 financial year the annual sales amounted to 2.2 million tonnes. 

Over the past financial year, the group generated a net profit of 384.5 million Swiss francs ($402 million) for 7.2 billion francs in turnover. The group, which has its head office in Zurich, employs more than 13,000 people and has more than 60 production sites worldwide.