Salmonella again: Swiss chocolate giant has to stop production

Created: 06/30/2022Updated: 06/30/2022, 14:55

By: Thomas Schmidtutz

Barry Callebaut plant in Wieze: The chocolate giant has shut down production at its Belgian plant following the discovery of salmonella.

© Nicolas Maeterlinck/dpa

The Swiss chocolate company Barry Callebout has had to close its plant in Belgium because of salmonella findings.

Munich - The Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has found salmonella in its plant in Wieze, Belgium.

As a “precautionary measure”, production was then stopped and delivery interrupted, the Zurich-based company announced on Thursday.

They are currently contacting "all customers who may have received affected products," it said.

Barry Callebaut is a leading global supplier of chocolate and cocoa products for commercial customers such as confectioners, bakeries and beverage manufacturers.

The “Barry Callebaut” brand is therefore less well known to the general public.

According to the company, the salmonella bacteria were already detected on Monday in lecithin, which is used in all products.

Salmonella can cause severe diarrhea.

Barry Callebout: Only small shipments affected

The Belgian food safety authority FAVV was informed immediately, it said.

The company is assuming that the few quantities that have been delivered since Monday have not yet been processed anywhere and have not been sold to customers, said group spokesman Frank Keidel.

The corresponding checks are still ongoing and could take a few more days, said Keidel.

It was initially unclear whether German customers could also have been supplied with the contaminated chocolate mass. 

Second salmonella case in Belgium within a few months

Salmonella was only discovered in a Belgian Ferrero plant last April.

Because of the salmonella infestation, the Italian confectionery giant had to recall numerous products such as surprise eggs or children's chocolate in several European countries, including in Germany.