World’s biggest chocolate-making factory in Belgium finally restarts operations after six week shut-down sparked by salmonella contamination
- Barry Callebaut plant in Wieze closed after bacteria found on production line
- Closure halted supplies of Hershey, Nestle, Mondelez and Unilever chocolates
- But the company insists no consumers were harmed by the outbreak
- Belgium’s food health agency said it will continue to monitor production
The world’s biggest chocolate factory restarted operations today after closing for six weeks to deal with a salmonella contamination.
Confectionary giant Barry Callebaut’s plant in Wieze, Belgium was shut down after the bacteria was found, halting supplies of Hershey’s, Nestle and Mondelez chocolate.
Three of the mega-factory’s 24 production lines resumed and the first delivery in six weeks has been completed, the Swiss company that runs the factory said today.
Swiss owner Barry Callebaut insisted infected products made at the Wieze factory (pictured) did not make their way into stores. Clients include Hershey, Nestle, Mondelez and Unilever
The Zurich firm halted shipments and claims it told clients about the outbreak in time to prevent contaminated chocolate arriving in shops.
It identified lecithin, added to smooth food textures, as the source of the contamination, prompting weeks of extensive cleaning.
No consumers reported infections caused by salmonella, with symptoms of salmonellosis including diarrhoea and fever.
‘We remain cautious because this operation is unprecedented, the process of cleaning and disinfection takes a lot of time,’ Barry Callebaut Korneel Warlop told AFP.
Lecithin, added to smooth food textures, was the source of the outbreak (factory interior)
He said that while the factory was currently turning out only a ‘fairly low volume’, it planned to reactivate more production lines ‘in the weeks to come’.
Belgium’s food health agency said it was continuing to monitor production from the plant.
The Barry Callebaut plant employs around 600 people and is a key unit in the company’s total output, which amounted to 2.2million tonnes in the 2020-2021 financial year, produced in more than 60 sites worldwide.
The company says its Wieze plant is the biggest chocolate factory in the world.
It also provides the cachet of the goods being made in Belgium, which has an international reputation for top-quality chocolate.
The outbreak came three months after salmonella was found at a Ferrero factory in Arlon, Belgium, where Kinder chocolates were being made.
Belgian health authorities said gave the green light to restart the Italian giant’s factory for a three-month test period.
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