Barry Callebaut has announced today that the cleaning of the chocolate lines affected by the entry of salmonella-positive lecithin in its factory in Wieze, Belgium, is progressing well.  

As a result, the first cleaned chocolate lines are foreseen to restart production as of early August 2022, with a gradual ramp-up to full capacity over the following weeks.

Barry Callebaut detected on June 27, 2022, at its Wieze factory in Belgium a salmonella-positive chocolate production lot and quickly identified a lecithin batch from a supplier as the root cause. In response, the company halted all chocolate production at the Wieze factory on June 29, 2022, as a precautionary measure, which prevented affected chocolate products from entering the retail food chain. Barry Callebaut duly and proactively informed the Belgian Food Safety Authorities (FAVV) and is in continuous collaboration with them on this incident.