The Swiss group Barry Callebaut, world leader in cocoa and chocolate preparations, said Thursday that it had stopped the production of chocolate in its factory in Wieze (Belgium), presented as the largest in the world, after the discovery Monday of salmonella in a batch.
“Our quality experts have identified lecithin as the source of contamination,” the wholesaler said in a statement.
A spokesman said that “most of the contaminated products are still in the Wieze factory” and that the group was in the process of contacting its 73 customers (large industrialists, craftsmen) to ensure that there is “no contamination at the consumer level”.
The Swiss group, the world’s number one cocoa company, has announced that it has stopped chocolate production at its Wieze plant.
The source of contamination would be lecithin, an emulsifier.