Buitoni factory: questions remain

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Update

Video length: 2 min.

France 2

Article written by

H. Puffeney, E. Lagarde, P. Lagaune, Y. Kadouch

France 2

France Televisions

Employees of the Buitoni factory in Caudry (Nord) feel that they are collateral victims of the health scandal which caused the death of two children and led to kidney failure in dozens of others.

How did the pizzas from this factory cause one of the biggest French health scandals? And with how many victims? According to Public Health France, there are at least 56 confirmed cases, including two deaths. The majority are children: all infected with bacteria after eating Buitoni pizzas. Families have since been devastated. “I did not know how to protect my children from a piece of pizza”laments this mother.

Many serious abnormalities

Produced in the North, these pizzas are distributed throughout France. The site is closed and the investigation begins with a question: did the factory suffer from poor hygiene? Nestlé claims that the bacteria could come from the flour used. But before the scandal, several inspection reports in Caudry (North) pointed to many serious anomalies. So, is the factory unusable? Some employees are asking Nestlé, a multinational, to transfer other group productions there: coffee, cereals or even sparkling water. In practice, this would be very complex. Another lead: find a buyer who also makes pizzas. Work could resume in a few months.

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