A tapenade maker was sentenced to 18 months suspended prison sentence by the Marseille Criminal Court for poisoning his clients.
The tapenade will leave them with a bitter taste. This Monday, the manager of the workshop “La Ruche”, appeared before the judges of the Correctional Court of Marseille. The man, a certain Maurice Gremeret, was convicted of “deception on goods causing danger to human health and unintentional injuries”. The man intoxicated a dozen guests, in question: the presence of bacteria Clostridium botulinum, responsible for botulism.
The facts date back to September 2011 when, “just a few days apart, several guests having two meals, one in Rustrel (Vaucluse) and the other in Amiens (Somme), had been hospitalized urgently”, reports the ‘AFP. Some of the addicts had a life-threatening prognosis, while others presented symptoms ranging from loss of vision to sudden paralysis, characteristic symptoms of botulism. Clostridium botulinum produces highly dangerous toxins in the body, which develop under conditions of low oxygen concentration. When ingested, these toxins can lead to respiratory and muscle paralysis. Botulism is potentially fatal if not taken care of quickly.
A bad sterilizer
The investigation made it possible to understand how the bacteria had ended up in the jars of tapenade. The sterilization carried out in the workshop was not up to standard. Their machine, supposed to sterilize the jars could not exceed 103 degrees. However, to eliminate the presence of the bacteria in a product such as tapenade, a temperature of 127 degrees was necessary.
During his trial, the public prosecutor Sylvie Marchelli did not hesitate to note the “amateurism” of the accused, who, in 2007, did not consider it necessary to replace his sterilizer. At the time, inspectors had highlighted the problem with the machine: “I am two years from retirement, I am not going to invest in an autoclave,” he told the inspectors.
Among the victims, some still have respiratory consequences. The accused will have to pay nearly 60,000 euros in damages to the five most affected victims.
.
