The establishment produced raw dough pizzas from the Fraîch'Up range, suspected of having caused the death of two children and the poisoning of dozens of others by the bacterium Escherichia coli.

The factory had partially reopened in mid-December 2022 after nine months of shutdown, but only the line of pizzas with cooked dough, not affected by the scandal, had been authorized to restart.

"The frozen pizza market has fallen by 20% in one year", a drop which "has had an even greater impact on the Buitoni brand", a spokesperson for Nestlé France told AFP on Friday.

"Despite all the efforts made to ensure a restart of the factory in the best conditions in December 2022, the deterioration in the outlook for orders has forced Nestlé France to react", he added.

The company has so far only announced to employees, during a meeting on Thursday, a "temporary suspension" of activity with immediate effect, but this could lead to a permanent closure.

The employees of the factory, just under 200 people, will keep their salaries pending a decision on their factory, said the spokesperson for Nestlé France.

"It's finish"

"Many colleagues are devastated," FO delegate (majority) Stéphane Derammelaere told AFP, referring to many employees over 50 and couples whose two members are employed by Buitoni.

"We didn't expect the distributors to slam the door on us," he says.

Orders only amount to 450 tonnes for the moment, far from the 3,500 initially planned for 2023, he underlined.

"I think it's over," concludes the trade unionist, indicating that "the verdict" of Nestlé must fall on March 30.

The mayor of Caudry, Frédéric Bricout, asked Nestlé, "a global group that makes billions in profits, to substitute another product for the production of pizzas in Caudry", he told AFP.

In a press release co-signed with the president of the Hauts-de-France regional council, Xavier Bertrand, the elected official demands a meeting from Nestlé France "in order to know" his "real intentions" for Caudry.

"Rodents"

Public Health France (SPF) and the Fraud Prevention Department (DGCCRF) were alerted in February 2022 by an upsurge in cases of kidney failure in children, linked to contamination by E. coli.

On March 18, Nestlé recalled its pizzas and closed the two production lines, and on April 1 the prefecture banned all activity there, the health authorities having established a link between the consumption of Fraîch'Up pizzas and several serious cases of contamination. to E.coli.

After searches in Caudry and at the headquarters of Nestlé in the Hauts-de-Seine, a judicial investigation was opened in mid-May, in particular for involuntary homicide against one person and involuntary injuries concerning 14 others.

In July, the boss of Nestlé France, Christophe Cornu, announced the creation of a "victim support fund".

Nestlé France had indicated that it had taken more than 2,000 samples and detected the bacteria on frozen pizzas produced between October 2021 and February 16, 2022.

According to internal analyzes of the company, "the most probable hypothesis" is that of "contamination of the flour".

Other possible causes have also been put forward, such as cleaning and hygiene conditions, after several warnings in the past and accusatory testimonies from employees.

Inspections by the health authorities for several years had reported "the presence of rodents" and the "lack of maintenance and cleaning of the manufacturing, storage and passage areas" in the factory, according to the prefectural decree of April 1. .

© 2023 AFP