A salmonella outbreak has shut down the world's largest chocolate factory.
The Barry Callebaut production factory in Belgium - which produces chocolate for Hershey, Mondelez, Nestle and Unilever - has reportedly found the harmful bacteria on its grounds.
It comes months after 70 children fell seriously ill with food poisoning, sparking a Kinder Egg recall after the product was found to contain salmonella.
The Belgian factory, which is located in the town of Wieze employs 13,000, has temporarily shut down its supply chain in response to the salmonella which was detected on Monday.
The company said it identified lecithin, an emulsifier used in making chocolate, as the source of the contamination.
Barry Callebaut supplies chocolate from the contaminated factory to 73 clients across the globe. Its products are used by food and beverage manufacturers, pastry chefs, bakeries, hotels, restaurants and chocolatiers.
A spokesman for the company today said that any customers who might have received contaminated chocolate would be contacted.
Spokesman Korneel Warlop said: "All products manufactured since the test have been blocked. Chocolate production in Wieze remains suspended until further notice."
The factory's production suspension comes some months after Kinder also reported traces of salmonella in their production factories, the Daily Star reports.
That Kinder Surprise incident is currently under investigation, which has taken samples from that salmonella case and said they are from the same strain as the samples taken from a separate factory in Belgium last December.
At the time of the first reported infections, Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UKHSA, warned that infection "can be severe and many children affected in this outbreak have been very unwell and hospitalised".
Belgian health authorities have announced that Ferrero in Arlons, where the Kinder salmonella was traced to, can resume production.
A three-month test period will be used at the factory, Metro reported.
Belgium's food safety agency AFSCA has confirmed that the Wieze plant will be investigated.
It comes as an inquest was told a British man died from salmonella after eating four duck eggs he bought at a country show.
Niptoon Tavakoli, 65, died in hospital two months after falling ill in June 2019, an inquest jury heard on Monday.
A retired retail manager died from one of the worst cases of salmonella a hospital consultant has seen after eating four duck eggs he bought at a country show, an inquest was told.
His wife, Cheryl, told Doncaster Coroner's Court the pair bought six eggs from a stall at Messingham Show, in North Lincolnshire, during a family day out on June 2.
Mrs Tavakoli, 63, said the retired retail manager ate two of the eggs for his tea the day after.
She told the inquest: "He fried them really well. He didn't like eggs too runny."
She said that he decided to have two more eggs two days later because he "really enjoyed" eating them.
She told the jury of seven women and four men that he cooked them the same way.
