Barry Callebaut: no salmonella in retail chain, group says

(CercleFinance.com) - Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut said on Friday that no salmonella positive product has entered the retail food chain, after an infection incident stopped production at a Belgian production site.


Based on internal investigation, Barry Callebaut confirmed that no chocolate products affected by the salmonella-positive production lot in Wieze, Belgium, entered the retail food chain.

The company said it has shared the results of its investigation with the Belgian Food Safety Authorities (FAVV) for assessment.

When the analyses are completed, all chocolate production lines in Wieze will be cleaned and disinfected before the production process resumes, Barry Callebaut said.

Yesterday, Barry Callebaut announced that it had found a salmonella-contaminated production lot at its Wieze factory, with the source of the contamination being lecithin, an ingredient used to ensure the ability of chocolate to flow.

As a precautionary measure, the company has stopped production and withdrawn all products manufactured since 25 June.

"Barry Callebaut's quick action is likely to have prevented potentially contaminated products from finding their way further downstream and reaching end-consumers", analysts at Stifel reacted this morning.

After dropping 2 per cent yesterday, the Zurich-listed stock lost a further one per cent on Friday.

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