全球最大乳品企业爆丑闻：出售受污染婴儿奶粉十余年

2月1日有报道称，法国乳制品集团拉克塔利斯的首席执行官表示，2005年以来可能一直在出售受沙门氏菌污染的婴儿奶粉，该危机日渐恶化，可能导致上亿欧元损失。

去年，多名婴儿饮用拉克塔利斯出产的牛奶后患病，该系列产品由法国西部一家工厂生产，均受到沙门氏菌污染。此后，拉克塔利斯在法国及全球范围召回1200万罐婴儿奶粉。

法国政府部门表示，去年8月中到12月38个沙门氏菌感染病例中，有36例显然跟拉克塔利斯的奶粉有关。受害家庭代表组织称，还有十多个病例没有计入官方统计数据。

拉克塔利斯首席执行官埃玛纽埃尔·贝尼耶向法国商业报纸《回声报》表示，此次问题奶粉查出的沙门菌菌株类型和2005年的问题奶粉相同，可能在2005年之后还影响过其他产品。

贝尼耶称：“不能排除有婴儿2005年至今食用过被污染的奶粉。”他还指出某家未具名私人实验室进行1.6万次测试却并无结果，有效性值得怀疑。

贝尼耶称，因奶粉受污染，拉克塔利斯已让旗下位于法国克朗市的一家奶制品工厂停产。该工厂2005年时属于另一个法国品牌喜丽雅，2006年被拉克塔利斯收购。

拉克塔利斯在声明中表示：“如果对当年终端产品的分析显示存在沙门菌，我们肯定不会在市场上销售，一定会设法避免出现危机。”

受害者代表组织称，得知贝尼耶的言论后十分“失望”。

该组织声明指出：“本次事件涉及数亿罐、数万吨问题产品，销往80多个国家，是规模空前的食品安全丑闻。”

“这意味着受害者人数可能多得多。”

贝尼耶称，这起丑闻是“是我作为管理者面临的最大一次危机。”

他告诉《回声报》：“现在没法准确估计，但可以肯定（代价）非常高，可能达数亿欧元。”

他还说：“这起丑闻可能让我们失去政府颁发的出口许可证，处罚持续多久还不能确定。”

贝尼耶没有透露可能付出的代价。

他说，去年12月初宣布召回的奶粉之中很多已经被食用，而且召回的可能不到销售总量的一半。

法国大型连锁超市勒克莱克、欧尚、家乐福和U氏连锁商场均承认，拉克塔利斯公开召回后仍在出售部分问题婴儿奶粉。

受害者组织的律师称，受害家庭打算起诉欧尚和勒克莱克。贝尼耶还表示，已有多宗诉讼将拉克塔利斯列为被告。（财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

审校：夏林

French dairy group Lactalis could have been producing salmonella-tainted baby milk since 2005, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Thursday, adding the growing crisis was likely to cost the company hundreds of millions of euros.

Lactalis has recalled 12 million tins in France and around the world after several babies were taken ill last year after drinking salmonella-contaminated milk produced at a factory in western France.

French authorities have said there were 38 “Salmonella Agona” infections reported between mid-August and December last year, 36 of them clearly linked to Lactalis milk. A group representing victims’ families say at least 10 more cases are unaccounted for.

The same strain of salmonella was also responsible for some infections in 2005, Lactalis Chief Executive Emmanuel Besnier told French business paper Les Echos, adding it was possible other infections had occurred since then.

“It can not be excluded that babies have consumed contaminated milk over this period,” Besnier said, questioning the effectiveness of 16,000 tests performed by an unidentified private laboratory that had revealed nothing.

Besnier said Lactalis was stopping production at one of its facilities at the factory in Craon due to the outbreak. In 2005, the plant was owned by Celia, a company taken over by Lactalis in 2006.

“If the analysis of end-products had revealed the presence of Salmonella Agona, we would of course not have marketed the products and we would have avoided the crisis,” Lactalis said in a statement.

The victims’ association said it had read Besnier’s comments with “dismay.”

“These are several hundred million boxes concerned and several hundred thousand tonnes of products sent to more than 80 countries. This is a health scandal of unprecedented scale,” it said in a statement.

“This implies that the victims could have been much more numerous.”

Besnier said the scandal was “the biggest crisis I’ve ever had to face as a boss.”

“We can’t say definitively but (the cost) will be very high, several hundred million euros,” he told Les Echos.

“This case could cost us our export license for a still undetermined period,” he added.

Besnier did not give details of what the costs would be.

He said a lot of the milk recalled since early December had been consumed and that returns were likely to amount to less than half of total volumes.

French supermarket chains Leclerc, Auchan, Carrefour and Systeme U have all acknowledged that some of the baby milk remained on their shelves after the recall.

The victims’ association’s lawyer said families intended to file lawsuits against Auchan and Leclerc. Besnier said Lactalis was the target of multiple legal complaints.