The French government is investigating the link between frozen pizza made by Nestlé SA (OTC:NSRGY) and a wave of E. coli cases that resulted in the deaths of two children and illnesses of dozens of others.
What Happened: The Wall Street Journal reported France’s Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention has launched a criminal investigation to determine if Nestlé would face charges that could include involuntary manslaughter, deceitful practices and endangering others.
The investigation is aimed at the company’s Buitoni Fraîch’Up frozen pizza, which Nestlé manufactures at Caudry in northern France. In March, investigators confirmed a link between the illnesses and the pizza, which the company distributes in Europe and Africa.
Investigators ordered a shutdown of the Caudry plant last month, citing the presence of rodents and inadequate pest control. The facility was also faulted for unsatisfactory maintenance and the inadequate cleaning of manufacturing and storage areas, and French media published photographs from the factory that showed food on the floor, a worm on a production line and oil leaking from a production engine. Nestlé confirmed the photographs were from Caudry, but insisted they were from 2020 and not taken recently.
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What Happens Next: The French authorities accused Nestlé of violating European Union laws of hygiene maintenance in food production. Nestlé has withdrawn the pizza from French stores, while Belgium’s government ordered a product recall and Luxembourg’s government published a health warning about the item; the pizza is not available in North America.
The company said it was cooperating with French authorities to find the origin of the E. coli outbreak, adding that it was creating a strategy to reopen the factory safely.
“These anomalies constitute an important source of microbiological, physical or chemical contamination of the foodstuffs handled in the establishment,” said the company in a statement.
Photo: Louis Houng / YouTube
