New twist in the Lactalis case. Products from tower no. 2 of the Craon factory were also said to have been contaminated with salmonella.
While the Craon (Mayenne) factory has resumed production, it may not be completely decontaminated. According to documents from the General Directorate of Health (DGS), two types of salmonella were found shortly before the start of the contaminated milk affair in products manufactured by tower no. 2 of the Lactalis production site, until here out of the question.
Tower 2 resumed production in July
“This tower n°2 is a major new element, insofar as Lactalis has always assured that the phenomenon of contamination was limited to tower n°1”, indignantly Quentin Guillemain, president of theAssociation of Families Victims of Contaminated Milk (AFVLCS). While tower no. 1 of the plant was permanently closed, tower no. 2 resumed production in July. “It is on the absence of contamination in tower n°2 that the group relies to justify the reopening of the Craon factory”, adds the father of the family.
Lactalis’ communication director, Michel Nalet, indicated on November 8 that he “had some [des salmonelles] in the products but they were detected before canning”. A milk powder intended, still according to the AFVLCS, for industrial preparations for adults, such as ice cream, pastries or desserts.
Judicial information against X
It is now an investigating judge who follows the investigation into the contamination of infant formula with salmonella for which the Lactalis group is responsible. After nine months of preliminary investigation, the public health department of the Paris public prosecutor’s office decided to open a judicial investigation against X for “deception on the substantial qualities of the goods”, “involuntary injuries resulting in incapacity for work less than or equal to three months” and “non-performance by a food business operator of procedures for the withdrawal or recall of a product injurious to health”.
Nearly 300 complaints have been filed
The Paris prosecutor’s office ruled that the investigations should “continue in another more suitable legal framework”, after having analyzed thousands of documents seized during searches on four Lactalis sites. A total of 53 infants were infected with salmonellosis in France at the end of 2017 after drinking infant milk from the Craon factory. Nearly 300 complaints have been filed against the Lactalis group.
On August 29, the parents of a child who consumed infant milk contaminated with salmonella also filed a complaint for “concealment of evidence”. This follows the theft of three computers and a tablet during a burglary of a Paris annex of the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), one of the services in in charge of the investigation of the health scandal affecting the dairy group.
Concealment of evidence
Quentin Guillemain called in February for a boycott, still relevant, of Lactalis products still sold in supermarkets. On Twitter, he evokes “the breach of trust” between parents and the brand. As such and on behalf of the families, he calls on “consumers to avoid buying and consuming products from Lactalis brands currently on sale in France and abroad”.
A salmonella infection can become very serious, even fatal
Infection with bacteria of the genus Salmonellosis is manifested by gastroenteritis, sometimes acute, which generally resolves spontaneously within a few days. However, the consequences can be serious in certain sensitive populations, in particular people suffering from malnutrition, suffering from certain diseases (achlorhydria, hypochlorhydria or neoplastic disease), under treatment against gastric acidity, or even under broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy.
Finally, in infants as well as in people with a weakened immune system (autoimmune disease, immunosuppressive, immunosuppressive medical treatment, etc.), a salmonella infection can become very serious, even fatal. “We are talking about 53 infected infants, but this figure does not correspond to reality”, estimates Quentin Guillemain. “To this must be added all those who have not reacted, all those who have not done an analysis, all those whose parents have not lodged a complaint because it costs money… For me , all infants who have ingested infant formula contaminated with salmonella are victims of Lactalis. We are therefore talking about hundreds of children”, he concludes.
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