The Buitoni factory in Caudry raided – The HuffPost

FRANCOIS LO PRESTI via AFPLThe Buitoni factory in Caudry in the north of France. health authorities as the source of several serious cases of contamination of children by the E.coli bacterium, indicated the gendarmerie. The search has been underway since this morning, under the responsibility of the Paris prosecutor’s office, which has opened an investigation, in particular for “involuntary homicides”, “deception” and “endangering others”, said the gendarmerie, confirming information of the daily La Voix du Nord. The Paris prosecutor’s office, which opened its investigation on March 22, led by the public health center, confirmed to AFP that the operation was in progress. “A degraded level of control of food hygiene” and rodents The search of the Nestlé group factory is carried out according to the gendarmerie by gendarmes from the Central Office for the fight against attacks on the environment and health public (Oclaesp). The prefect of the North had prohibited by a prefectural decree on April 1 the production of pizzas within this factory, following “two in-depth hygiene inspections” carried out on March 22 and 29 by agents of the Departmental Directorate for the Protection of Populations (DDPP) of the North and the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF). These inspections “highlighted a degraded level of control of food hygiene”, specified the decree, pointing in particular to “the presence of rodents and the absence of means of protection against the entry of pests and the fight against pests that are effective and suitable for a food business” as well as the “lack of maintenance and cleaning of manufacturing, storage and passage areas”. A resurgence of cases of kidney failure in children These anomalies “constitute a major source of microbiological, physical or chemical contamination of foodstuffs handled in the establishment, which therefore present or are likely to present a danger to the health of consumers ” , according to the decree. Buitoni had then indicated “to cooperate closely with the authorities within the framework of their investigation” to determine the source of the E. Coli bacterium and to work “on an action plan and appropriate measures following this prefectural decree”. Since the end of February, France has experienced a resurgence of cases of kidney failure in children linked to contamination with E. coli. Several of these cases are linked to the consumption of Fraîch’Up pizzas from Buitoni, produced at the Caudry site, the health authorities have confirmed. See also on The HuffPost: Everything about salmonella… or almost