Barry Callebaut confirms no salmonella positive chocolate entered the retail food chain

Company says lecithin was the source of the contamination

Most important information:

Based on internal investigation, Barry Callebaut confirms that no chocolate products affected by the salmonella-positive production lot in Wieze, Belgium, entered the retail food chain
The Group has shared its internal investigation with the Belgian Food Safety Authorities (FAVV) for assessment
When the analyses are completed, all chocolate production lines in Wieze will be cleaned and disinfected before production process resumes

After reaching out to all customers supplied with impacted chocolate products, Barry Callebaut can confirm, based on its internal investigation, that no affected chocolate products by the salmonella-positive production lot in Wieze, Belgium, entered the retail food chain.

The Group has shared its internal investigation with the Belgian Food Safety Authorities (FAVV) for assessment.

On Monday, June 27, 2022, Barry Callebaut detected a salmonella positive production lot manufactured in Wieze, Belgium.

The company quickly identify lecithin as the source of the contamination, an ingredient widely used in chocolate production. Barry Callebaut informed the FAVV about the incident, stopped all chocolate production lines as a precautionary measure and put a hold on all products manufactured since the time of testing.

"Food Safety is paramount for Barry Callebaut, and this is a very exceptional incident," the company said. "Not only does Barry Callebaut have a Food Safety charter and procedure in place, but also over 230 colleagues working on food safety and quality in Europe and over 650 worldwide. At the site in Wieze, employees are trained to recognize food safety risks. This allowed the teams to quickly identify the risk and initiate the root cause analysis."

The chocolate production in Wieze will remain suspended until further notice. Barry Callebaut said it is diligently pursuing its very thorough root cause analysis and keeping the FAVV informed in the process. When the analyses are completed the lines will be cleaned and disinfected before the production process resumes.

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Crystal Lindell, Former editor-in-chief of Candy Industry Magazine. While here she has worked on Candy Industry Magazine, Food Engineering Magazine and Food Safety Strategies. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois – Springfield and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Western Illinois University. And her favorite breakfast is a cup of espresso and Twix bar.