When eight-year-old Nathan Aïech sat down for a Friday night pizza with his father and stepfamily at their home outside Paris, it was their traditional “fun” weekend meal. The family had bought Buitoni frozen pizza, its colourful packaging boasting of two centuries of Italian cuisine. It seemed better than cheaper supermarket options. “A child is always happy when it’s pizza for dinner,” said Yohan Aïech, Nathan’s father.
Nathan was a sporty child, in full health, who wanted to be a high-speed train driver. Two days after the meal he complained of a stomach ache. Within a week, he was fighting for his life in intensive care, with doctors saying his brain, heart and kidneys were compromised. After dialysis, surgery and two heart attacks, Nathan died on 18 February. French health authorities later confirmed that the E coli bacteria infection and complications that killed him could be linked to the Buitoni pizza Fraîch’Up range.
