Lactalis CEO vows compensation for victims of tainted milk
PARIS: The chief executive of France’s Lactalis group on Sunday vowed compensation for victims of salmonella-tainted baby milk, as he revealed that recalls were now under way in 83 countries.
Emmanuel Besnier, giving his first interview in nearly 20 years as head of the familycontrolled company, told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the recall involved more than 12 million packages of Picot, Milumel, Celia and other brands of powdered baby milk.
“We are going to draw the lessons from this crisis and set out an even stricter hygiene framework, in collaboration with the authorities,” he said.
Asked why he had not publicly addressed earlier parents’ concerns as worries about the outbreak intensified, Besnier said: “It’s true, by nature I’m not very forthcoming.”
“In a crisis like this, we act first, and perhaps I didn’t take the necessary time to explain things.”
A total of 37 babies have fallen ill in France as a result of the contamination, health authorities said late Friday, along with a case in Spain and a suspected case in Greece.
But Besnier said no new cases had been reported since December 8, a week after the recall was announced.
The French government welcomed the pledge to reimburse victims, but said investigations would continue to determine why the contamination went undetected.
Officials will also investigate why in some cases the affected milk continued to be distributed in supermarkets, pharmacies and even some hospitals after the recall was announced. — AFP