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World’s largest chocolate factory halts production after Salmonella cases

A chocolate factory in Belgium temporarily closed its doors after discovering Salmonella in a production batch.

Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut halted production at its factory in Wieze, Belgium, earlier this week, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

The Wieze factory is the largest chocolate factory in the world, according to government tourism website Visit Flanders.

“For Barry Callebaut, food safety is paramount. Our robust food safety programs in place allowed us to quickly identify lecithin as the source of the contamination,” the company said in the statement, adding that the Belgian food authorities (FAVV) were informed of the incident.

Lecithin is a fatty substance used to bind other chocolate ingredients together.

The company said it had taken precautionary measures, including recalling all products manufactured since the time of testing. Production at Wieze will remain suspended until further notice.

“We are currently contacting all customers who may have received impacted products,” the statement said.

In a statement on Friday, Barry Callebaut said that no contaminated chocolate had “entered the retail food chain”.

The company, which made nearly $8 billion in sales in fiscal 2020-21, makes chocolate for other chocolate makers, including small chocolatiers and big brands, although he declined to provide customer names when asked by the CNN Business International.

“Barry Callebaut will now have time to proceed with the very diligent root cause analysis — keeping the FAVV informed in the process. When this is completed, the lines will be cleaned and disinfected before resuming the production process,” the company said.

— Anna Cooban contributed to this story

Source: CNN Brasil

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