Barry Callebaut says no salmonella-tainted chocolate reached consumers

Barry Callebaut has said that no chocolate tainted by a recent salmonella outbreak at its Belgian plant reached retail consumers.

On 27 June the company halted production at its operation in Wieze, one of the largest chocolate factories in the world, after the bacteria was found on-site.

Barry Callebaut, which supplies chocolate to many UK operators, said that "based on its internal investigation… no affected chocolate products by the salmonella-positive production lot in Wieze, Belgium, entered the retail food chain".

The Swiss group said it had identified lecithin, an ingredient widely used in chocolate production, as the source of the contamination.

Production at the Wieze factory will remain suspended until further notice and all products manufactured since the bacteria was found have been put on hold.

Barry Callebaut said it was a "very exceptional incident" and that it was "diligently pursuing" a root cause analysis.

All lines will be cleaned and disinfected before the production process resumes.

The company has shared its investigation with the Belgian Food Safety Authorities.

The confectioner, which has more than 60 production facilities globally, also supplies other companies with chocolate bases, which brands then use to create their own products.

Photo: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock