Rennes (AFP)
The association for the health of children, which had defended families victims of milk contaminated with salmonella, demanded Thursday the opening of a judicial investigation following the revelations on the "fraudulent methods" of the dairy group Lactalis.
The association "expressly requests the opening of an investigation so that the fraudulent acts mentioned by the journalists can be verified and be the subject of appropriate prosecution and sanctions", she wrote in a press release, speaking of facts "particularly serious" of "wetting the milk" or "recycling of cheeses fallen to the ground", reported by the investigative media Disclose.
"In view of what is mentioned in the articles, there is reason for the prosecution to seize," Quentin Guillemain, president of the association, told AFP, also citing violations of environmental law blamed on the dairy group.
"This company enjoys a certain impunity, it will have to stop," he added.
According to Disclose, "between 2010 and today (...) 38 Lactalis factories have been or still are in violation of the environmental code" in France, "that is to say more than half of the 60 establishments listed and analyzed within the framework of this investigation ".
Disclose was based on documents from the Regional Directorates for the Environment (DREAL) and the Departmental Directorates for Social Cohesion and Population Protection (DDCSPP).
Disclose also quotes an expert who asserts that documents obtained by the online media attest that Lactalis practices "wetting milk", a practice consisting in "standardizing the level of protein in milk by adding permeate, a low liquid. protein content, making it possible to increase volumes at a lower production cost ".
In April 2000, Lactalis denied similar information published in Le Canard Enchaîné.
Contacted by AFP on Thursday, Lactalis did not immediately follow up.
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