In brief

Glitch at Lindt factory covers town in cocoa nibs

19-Aug-2020 - Last updated on 19-Aug-2020 at 07:56 GMT

The fine coating of cocoa nibs that 'snowed' on the Swiss town from the Lindt factory.

Lindt & Sprüngli has confirmed local reports that there was a minor defect in the cooling ventilation for a line for roasted 'cocoa nibs' in its factory in Olten on Tuesday, which left the Swiss town between Zurich and Basel covered in fragments of cocoa powder.

‘Willy Wonka moment’

In what the tabloid press have described as ‘a real-life Willy Wonka’ moment residents woke up to snowing particles of a fine cocoa powder after glitch at the chocolate factory.

Kakao-Regen im Oltner Industriequartier: Lüftungsanlage ist schuld daran https://t.co/O9Iorni5Iz pic.twitter.com/3LWZCsHeE0
— Olten (@olten) August 15, 2020

The nibs, which are fragments of crushed cocoa beans, are the basis of chocolate and strong winds spread the powder around the immediate vicinity of the factory, leaving at least on car lightly coated, according to local reports.

Lindt said factory production was able to continue as normal and the particles were completely harmless to people or the environment.

The ventilation system has now been repaired and the company has offered to pay for any cleaning needed.