Ferrero at the beginning of April, and Barry Callebaut at the end of June: in less than three months, two giants of the chocolate world find themselves confronted with a health scandal linked to salmonella. If the two cases are to be differentiated on the merits, it is a blow for Barry Callebaut. If this name may not mean anything to the general public, it is the largest chocolate producer in the country. It is in this factory that the raw material (bean, fat, sugar, etc.) is transformed into liquid or block chocolate which will then go to the factories of larger groups such as Mondelez (Côte d’Or , Milka, LU or even Toblerone to name but a few brands), Neuhaus, Galler, but also a whole series of artisan chocolatiers.
Suffice to say that the cessation of activities decreed Monday evening at the discovery of the bacterium undermines an entire sector.
As a reminder, Barry Callebaut announced on Wednesday evening that it had found traces of salmonella in its production and directly closed its factory located in Wieze, in East Flanders. The company contacted the Afsca on Tuesday, which came down to the spot. “ Pcompared to Ferrero, it is necessary to avoid comparing the two fileswarns Aline Van den Broeck, spokesperson for Afsca. The investigation and analyzes are in progress but Barry Callebaut contacted us very quickly and decided internally to close the factory. We did not have to intervene as was the case at Ferrero. We are busy trying to find the source of the problem, and above all to ensure that no consumer comes into contact with contaminated products. According to the first elements we have, no product has yet finished on the market. “
“ Il there is, according to our internal investigation, no longer any risk to food safety. The Afsca is independently continuing its investigation in order to validate this conclusion.n “says Korneel Warlop, spokesperson for Barry Callebaut.
Good news for consumers who obviously ask for verification. And the brands that source from Barry Callebaut don’t seem to be hiding behind their supplier’s error. “ Cat Mondelez we can guarantee that there is no contaminated product that has landed in any storeassures Annick Verdegem, spokesperson for the multinational. There is currently no food safety risk. Several of our factories located in Europe are supplied by Barry Callebaut chocolate, and the infected batches did not even enter our factories because we were able to stop the process in time. Only one factory was contaminated. It is located in France and does not produce anything for the Belgian market. It is closed during disinfection. All affected merchandise has been destroyed. “
For his part, Barry Callebaut indicates, without giving a complete list, that he supplies 73 customers in Belgium. This concerns the biggest brands (Leonidas or Marcolini are not among them, Editor’s note), but also chocolate artisans. “Our luck is that we only have to order this week”explains one of them.
As for the Art of Praslin, an artisanal chocolate factory located in Wavre, we also want to be reassuring. “ We order the chocolate dans another Barry Callebaut factory, and we have our own bespoke recipe that is not part of the overall production. We have worked with Barry Callebaut for at least 50 years and weWe’ve never had a problem. “
The most optimistic will say that it happens even to the best, but it remains difficult to accept for those who have seen their factory contaminated (see elsewhere).
And if the investigation should shed light on the exact cause of this contamination, the first elements indicate that a product called lecithin is the source of the infection. It is an emulsifier which makes the link between the different molecules during the manufacture of chocolate.
According to Barry Callebaut, it is an essential product that gives chocolate liquidity. If the problem comes from the lecithin, then it could be that a supplier of the factory imported the salmonella there. With an impact on production, but also on distribution. “ It is clear that such a problemt several weeks to adjust and we risk facing a major disruptionsays Annick Verdegem, spokesperson for Mondelez. We are dependent on what will happen at Barry Callebaut. “
And in terms of prices? You should know that chocolate is already strongly impacted by inflation and the explosion in the price of raw materials. Importing the cocoa beans has become very expensive, as have the manufacturing costs. Some chocolatiers say they have seen a 20 to 30% increase in their spending in recent weeks.
This large-scale scandal should not help, even if it is more to fear a lack of stock rather than an explosion of prices.
Neuhaus also infected: “We were warned too late”
Among Barry Callebaut’s big customers is Neuhaus. The chocolate maker, which also owns Corné Port-Royal, also finds itself blocked by this health crisis, and will see its activities disrupted for a few weeks. “ We have our own recipe and our own type of beans, but the raw chocolate is produced at Barry Callebaut, yesexplique Ignace Van Doorselaere, CEO de Neuhaus. As you know, all batches delivered since last weekend could be infected with salmonella. We therefore stopped our production as soon as we learned of it.. “
The problem is that Neuhaus had to wait until Wednesday evening to be notified, the time to see his factory potentially infected. “ Much of the potentially contaminated chocolate had already been used in our factorieshe says. This means that we had to isolate and destroy all the production and the stock concerned, but also to close our factory. We are busy cleaning it and we will also call on a specialized company. We will have to close our factory for 2 to 4 weeks and we hope to be able to resume 100% in early August. Fortunately, we have a stock to ensure sales over a period of 3 to 4 weeks.. “
This can cause substantial losses. “ We were warned too tard, and that’s what surprises me the mosthe breathes. If they already knew there was a problem Monday night, why wait two days to let us know? This delay is very long, and we could have avoided using this chocolate and having to disinfect our entire factory.. “
A question that will deserve an answer, and perhaps compensation, because 100% of Neuhaus production comes from this factory in Vlezenbeek. “ On speaks of 80 tons of chocolate that must be destroyed, not to mention the cost of cleaning and the complete shutdown of productionhe continues. But the most important thing for us is that we are 100% sure that no infected chocolate has arrived in our shops! “
What to break the trust with Barry Callebaut? “This is the first time that we have encountered a problem with them, and we do not intend to stop our collaboration. But some questions require answers…”