Residents of a town in Switzerland saw to their disbelief snowing flakes of chocolates after a ventilation system in a world-famous chocolate factory malfunctioned.

The company, Lindt & Spruengli, confirmed that its factory located in Olten emitted small particles of roasted, crushed cocoa bean pieces as a ventilation system was not working properly, German-language newspaper Oltner Tagblatt reported on Tuesday.

The official Twitter account of the town also confirmed the incident as it posted a picture of a car bonnet covered with cocoa dust.

The so-called "chocolate snowing" that occurred last week triggered hardly any alarm as the company said that the particles are harmless to humans and the environment.

The company also said one car was found lightly coated with chocolate dust.

However, the company offered to do the cleaning caused by the plumes of cocoa dust.

Production in the factory did not suffer due to the incident and the company has now fixed the ventilation system to stop the excess release of the particles, according to media reports.

Commonly known as Lindt, the Swiss chocolatier and confectionery company was founded in 1845 and known for its chocolate truffles and chocolate bars, among other sweets.

Lindt & Spruengli has 12 factories and has opened over 410 chocolate cafes and shops all over the world.

Lindor is a type of famous chocolate produced by Lindt, which is now characterised by a hard chocolate shell and a smooth chocolate filling.

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