Salmonella was found in a manufacturing batch on Monday, prompting Barry Callebaut a Swiss chocolate manufacturer, to suspend production at its Wieze plant in Belgium, which it claims to be the largest chocolate factory in the world.
73 clients who manufacture confections use the factory to generate liquid chocolate in wholesale amounts, a company spokesman who spoke to AFP said.
Salmonella, which causes salmonellosis, is a disease that causes diarrhea and fever but is only dangerous in the most extreme cases.
According to DOH, Salmonellosis is an infection with bacteria called Salmonella, the bacteria lives in the intestinal tracts of animals, including birds. Salmonella is usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces.
However, the Company said there have been no reports so far of any chocolate consumers infected by the salmonella
Here’s what spokesman Korneel Warlop said:
“All products manufactured since the test have been blocked.”
“Barry Callebaut is currently contacting all customers who may have received contaminated products. Chocolate production in Wieze remains suspended until further notice.”
Warlop added that the majority of the infected products are still on the scene.
The company has also contacted all of its customers and requested that they not ship any items that they have created using chocolate produced at the Wieze plant in Flanders, northwest of Brussels, since June 25.
“Food safety is of the utmost importance for Barry Callebaut and this contamination is quite exceptional. We have a well-defined food safety charter and procedures,” the firm said.
After receiving notification, Belgium’s AFSCA food safety regulator began an investigation, the firm added.
An AFSCA spokesman said Investigators will “gather all the information to trace the contamination.”
Swiss group Barry Callebaut supplies cocoa and chocolate products to many companies in the food industry, including industry giants such as Hershey, Mondelez, Nestle, and Unilever.
Its annual sales for the fiscal year 2020–2021 totaled 2.2 million tonnes, making it the industry leader worldwide.
The business, which has its headquarters in Zurich, achieved a net profit of 384.5 million Swiss francs ($402 million) for 7.2 billion francs in revenue during the most recent fiscal year.
The company has more than 60 production facilities across the world and more than 13,000 employees.
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Sources: Fox35orlando, Health.state.mn.us, Theguardian
