Barry Callebaut suspends production at chocolate factory in Belgium

Barry Callebaut detected salmonella in a production lot manufactured in its chocolate factory in Wieze on 27 June 2022. As a result, all chocolate products made since 25 June 2022 have been placed on hold. The company has informed Belgian food authorities (FAVV) and is contacting all its customers who may have received impacted products.

Lecithin has been identified as the source of the contamination. As lecithin is used in all chocolate production, the company has taken the precautionary measure to stop all production lines in the Wieze facility and to block all products manufactured since the time of testing, while it continues the root cause analysis and risk assessment.

When the analysis is completed, all chocolate production lines will be cleaned and disinfected before resuming the production process.

Based on its internal investigation, Barry Callebaut has confirmed that no chocolate products affected by the salmonella-positive production lot in Wieze, Belgium, entered the retail food chain.

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