The decision of the Prefecture of the Gironde was annulled by the administrative court of Bordeaux: the ban on sales imposed on “Charcuterie bordelaise” is suspended.
The soap opera continues. After a withdrawal of products initially, then the cessation of activity imposed since January 25, the company Bordeaux charcuterie can sell its products again. The administrative court of Bordeaux has indeed overturned the decision of the Prefecture of the Gironde, which had imposed an “immediate stop of production and distribution activities of meat products ready to be consumed”.
To justify the suspension of the prefectural decree, the court considered in particular that “the findings made by the administration did not justify the immediate stopping of production without formal notice, the various works or controls being able to be carried out very quickly and nothing showing the extreme imminence of a danger to the public ”.
Arnaud Chedhomme, the CEO of the company, had seized it, armed with a battery of test results. He refuted in particular the reasons given by the Prefecture, which referred to “serious breaches of the regulations relating to the safety of foodstuffs” noted by the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP).
Fragile arguments
The bacteria Listeria monocytogenes had been detected in two of the brand’s products. Under pressure from the veterinary services, seven products were withdrawn from the shelves of large and medium-sized retailers, before the ban on the sale of all charcuterie products was decided.
The company’s lawyer dismantled the arguments of the DDPP, which had criticized “insufficient cleaning and disinfection of evaporators and diffusers”. An accusation to which he replied, presenting the invoice attesting to recent work from a specialized company. A photo of waste was also contested as proof, the photo having been taken in a room located outside the production workshop, and the waste therefore does not represent a danger.
50 technically unemployed employees
Arnaud Chedhomme deplores the impact of this ban. “We shot red balls at our company and at myself. State officials tried to sink a business and destroy jobs. This is unacceptable. We are not going to stop there, ”he complained. In the meantime, around fifty employees had in fact been placed on technical unemployment. The company’s brand image is also affected.
In compensation for the damage, the Prefecture was ordered to pay 1,500 euros to Charcuterie bordelaise. The CEO has already stated that he would seek damages for this damage to the image of the company, as well as for the operating damage suffered.
.