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Barry Callebaut to restart Salmonella-hit plant

July 17, 2022 - from Food Safety NEWS

"Barry Callebaut is to resume production at its factory in Belgium that was involved in a Salmonella contamination incident beginning next month.

Cleaning of the chocolate lines affected by the Salmonella-positive lecithin in the plant in Wieze, is progressing well, said the company.

The first cleaned lines should restart in early August, with a gradual ramp-up to full capacity over the following weeks.

"One batch of contaminated lecithin was unloaded at the Wieze factory on June 25. Barry Callebaut confirmed Salmonella Tennessee had been identified in the lecithin system of the factory and in samples of the delivered material. This batch came from a lecithin manufacturer in Hungary and was transported by a third party. The lecithin involved was only used at this site.

"The National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih) in Hungary inspected the lecithin supplier, examining the processing methods, documentation, and taking official samples. Based on follow-up investigations, affected items were not shipped to other companies. Local media named this company as The Vandamme Group.

"Blocked before public sale On June 27, Barry Callebaut detected a Salmonella positive on a production lot manufactured in Wieze and lecithin was identified as the source of the contamination on June 29.

"Lecithin is used in all chocolate production lines in Wieze, so the company decided to stop operations and to block all chocolate products manufactured from June 25 to 29, except for cocoa production which is not linked to the lecithin circuit.

"On July 1, Barry Callebaut confirmed that, based on its internal investigation, no affected products had entered the retail food chain. No implicated chocolate has been exported by the company outside Europe.

"Affected countries include Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, according to a RASFF alert."

Salmonella found in world's biggest chocolate plant

June 30, 2022 - from CBS NEWS

"Salmonella bacteria have been discovered in the world's biggest chocolate plant, run by Swiss giant Barry Callebaut in the Belgian town of Wieze, the company said Thursday.

"A company spokesman told Agence France-Presse production had been halted at the factory, which produces liquid chocolate in wholesale batches for 73 clients that make confectionaries.

"'All products manufactured since the test have been blocked,' spokesman Korneel Warlop said.

"Most of the products discovered to be contaminated are still on the site, he said.

"The Wieze plant doesn't make chocolates to be sold directly to consumers and the company says it has no reason to believe any contaminated goods made by clients have made it onto shop shelves. "

World’s Largest Chocolate Factory Suspends Production After Detecting Salmonella

June 30, 2022 - from Forbes

"Swiss chocolate giant Barry Callebaut on Thursday announced it has suspended production at its plant in Wieze, Belgium—the world’s largest chocolate factory—after a salmonella outbreak was detected, an incident that comes just months after an outbreak at a Ferrero chocolate factory was linked to more than 300 people falling sick across the world.

"In a press statement, Barry Callebaut said it halted production after detecting salmonella in a production lot at its Wieze factory on Monday.

"The company said it has informed Belgian food authorities (FAVV) about the outbreak and has blocked all products manufactured since Monday’s test.

"The chocolate maker is also reaching out to customers who may have purchased any contaminated products, the statement added.

"Barry Callebaut’s own experts have identified the additive lecithin—used in all chocolate production—as the source of the contamination.

"The company said it plans to get to the root of the issue while keeping regulators informed and added production will only resume after the investigation is complete and production lines are cleaned and disinfected."