Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut has found salmonella at a plant in Wieze, Belgium. Production was stopped and delivery interrupted, as the Swiss company announced on Thursday. The company is a leading global supplier of chocolate and cocoa products. They are supplied to commercial customers for further processing, which is why the “Barry Callebaut” brand is less well known.
The salmonella bacteria, which can cause severe diarrhea, were found in lecithin, which is used in all of its products, according to the company on Monday. The Belgian food safety authority FAVV was informed immediately. The company assumes that the few quantities that have been delivered since Monday have not yet been processed and sold to customers anywhere, said company spokesman Frank Keidel. The investigations were still ongoing.