While the cause of the outbreak was not found, the investigation revealed deficiencies in the management of the plant. This included the "presence of mold, rust and peeling paints was then discovered in the factory, as well as food moths on the production line of Fraîch'Up pizzas."
What employees stated:
What employees stated:
"In 2012, Nestlé introduced a new way of managing the site. This is called the Lean method, explains Maryse Tréton of the CGT federation of agri-food. The goal is to minimize all times that are not dedicated to production. We reduce cleaning times and preventive maintenance times to make production as possible."
"Three years later, in 2015, this reduction in cleaning time will be included in a so-called "competitiveness" plan. "Until 2015, the plant operated with 16 hours of production and 8 hours of cleaning per day," say Patrick and Pierre. After 2015, we almost double the production time to 27 hours a day (in three 9-hour shifts) and we almost halve the cleaning time from 8 hours to 4 hours 45.""
"According to them, the consequences of this reorganization are not long in coming: "For us, it meant going faster on cleaning. So, the priority was to clean the production line and the machines. But not what was around, such as the walls and ceilings. It was no longer possible to do everything." Asked about this, the management of Nestlé France confirms that the cleaning time is now less than 5 hours. But it specifies that it has "systematic microbiological samples carried out in different strategic areas of the site"."
"This reduction in cleaning time would have had other consequences. According to the employees whom Radio France's Investigation Unit met, some areas of the factory that were cleaned at least once a year before 2015 would no longer be cleaned. "Before," explains one of them, "we closed the factory for three weeks in August. Meanwhile, the cleaning company that had a contract with the factory could do bottom cleaning. Since then, Nestlé only wants to stop the factory for one week in the summer. So the general condition has deteriorated.""
"This reduction in cleaning time would have had other consequences. According to the employees whom Radio France's Investigation Unit met, some areas of the factory that were cleaned at least once a year before 2015 would no longer be cleaned. "Before," explains one of them, "we closed the factory for three weeks in August. Meanwhile, the cleaning company that had a contract with the factory could do bottom cleaning. Since then, Nestlé only wants to stop the factory for one week in the summer. So the general condition has deteriorated.""
Some of the outcomes:
- The air conditioning (filtering) system was not cleaned at necessary frequency.
- Flour silos not cleaned for seven years.
- Presence of rodents
- Change of flour to untreated flour where facility had been using pasteurized flour.
What is difficult to tell is to what degree the plant culture, being in France, resisted to more of a US based way of manufacturing. That is, you can run a lean system provided the necessary procedures are still completed. Clearly, important activities were not completed and employees had not bought into the lean manufacturing approach.
ICI - France
https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/affaire-buitoni-de-nouveaux-temoignages-accablent-la-direction-1662724306
Buitoni case: new testimonies overwhelm management
Saturday September 10th, 2022 at 6:07 AM - Par Laetitia Cherel, France Bleu, France Bleu Nord
The testimonies of several employees of the Buitoni factory in Caudry shed light on the health deficiencies observed in their factory. They denounce a reduction in cleaning time imposed in 2015 and a change of flour in 2021. Investigation by Laetitia Cherel, investigation unit of Radio France.
Employees at the Buitoni site in Caudry denounce serious health deficiencies in their factory.
Employees at the Buitoni site in Caudry denounce serious health deficiencies in their factory. © Maxppp - PHOTOPQR - THE MOUNTAIN - Thierry LINDAUER
First, there is a sense of guilt. "We cogitate, we don't sleep anymore. One wonders how we got here. What did we do wrong?" Pierre* (an employee of the Caudry factory (North) where the Fraîch'Up pizzas of the Buitoni brand contaminated with Escherichia coli were made now feels the need to indulge. Since the scandal broke, he feels "responsible somewhere" for what happened. A feeling shared by many of his colleagues, including Patrick*: "These pizzas were our life, our pride," he explains with a strangled voice. Our pride turned into shame."
Then there is the shock of the closure of the factory in which they and other employees have sometimes been working for several decades. On April 1, a decree of the prefecture of the North orders the cessation of production "until the return to compliance with the regulations on hygiene". Patrick, Pierre and their colleagues then go around in circles. They continue to receive their remuneration but are worried about their future.
Finally, there is the need to give their version of the facts on the "serious shortcomings" pointed out in the decree of the prefecture of the North to justify the closure of the factory. Employees do not dispute these shortcomings. But they want to explain themselves. It is for all these reasons that they and other colleagues agreed to speak to Radio France's Investigation Unit.
They specify at the outset that they have no information on the origin of the contamination. A judicial investigation is underway to understand the causes of the poisoning that killed 56 people, including 55 children aged 1 to 15, and which caused the death of two of them.
Nevertheless, the investigation revealed deficiencies in the management of the plant. These had already been pointed out by the DGCCRF (Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention) in three reports dating from 2012, 2014 and 2020 (as revealed by the online investigative media Disclose). The presence of mold, rust and peeling paints was then discovered in the factory, as well as food moths on the production line of Fraîch'Up pizzas.
The employees' stories shed light on these excesses. "In 2012, Nestlé introduced a new way of managing the site. This is called the Lean method, explains Maryse Tréton of the CGT federation of agri-food. The goal is to minimize all times that are not dedicated to production. We reduce cleaning times and preventive maintenance times to make production as possible."
Three years later, in 2015, this reduction in cleaning time will be included in a so-called "competitiveness" plan. "Until 2015, the plant operated with 16 hours of production and 8 hours of cleaning per day," say Patrick and Pierre. After 2015, we almost double the production time to 27 hours a day (in three 9-hour shifts) and we almost halve the cleaning time from 8 hours to 4 hours 45."
"The general condition has deteriorated"
According to them, the consequences of this reorganization are not long in coming: "For us, it meant going faster on cleaning. So, the priority was to clean the production line and the machines. But not what was around, such as the walls and ceilings. It was no longer possible to do everything." Asked about this, the management of Nestlé France confirms that the cleaning time is now less than 5 hours. But it specifies that it has "systematic microbiological samples carried out in different strategic areas of the site".
This reduction in cleaning time would have had other consequences. According to the employees whom Radio France's Investigation Unit met, some areas of the factory that were cleaned at least once a year before 2015 would no longer be cleaned. "Before," explains one of them, "we closed the factory for three weeks in August. Meanwhile, the cleaning company that had a contract with the factory could do bottom cleaning. Since then, Nestlé only wants to stop the factory for one week in the summer. So the general condition has deteriorated."
27 degrees due to clogged air conditioning
In the bakery workshop where the dough of the Fraîch'Up pizzas is made, "before 2015, the air conditioning ducts were cleaned every six months-a year," explains Pierre. Now it's not done anymore and it's getting clogged. When it's 40 degrees outside, as there is sheet metal on the roofs, the temperature rises very high in the workshop, it is very hot, it can go up to 27 degrees." Gilles Salvat, Deputy Director General of ANSES's research and reference division, the National Food Safety Agency, explains: "Products such as flour that come in the form of powder create dust in the plant's environment that will then clog these filtration ducts. They need to be dismantled and cleaned much more regularly. Otherwise, the operation of the air conditioning and ventilation systems is altered. The consequence of this alteration may be, according to the scientist, a rise in temperature that leads to a risk of rapid development of Escherichia coli bacteria, although there is no evidence that this is what happened in the Buitoni plant." Asked precisely on this point, the management of Nestlé France did not answer.
Flour silos not cleaned for seven years
The health of other areas of the plant apparently left much to be desired. These are the silos, these four giant towers of the factory very visible from afar, and which each store 25 tons of flour. "Before, they were cleaned once a year, in August during the closure of the factory. Since 2015, they have not been to my knowledge," says Patrick. However, according to the European Guide to Good Hygiene Practice for grain storage that we consulted, storage places should be cleaned at least once a year.
Another shortcoming noted in the closure order issued by the prefecture: the presence of rodents in the bakery workshop. Patrick says he observed a possible crossing point for rats: "Right next to the Fraîch'Up pizza production line," he says, "there is a room where we put the raw materials. The forklift operator does not close the door every time he gets a pallet off the truck. So the door stays open and rodents can come in." However, again, according to Gilles Salvat, the presence of rodents is "obviously to be avoided absolutely in the food industry, because they are sources of very important bacterial infections, including potentially to the bacterium Escherichia coli, even if it is rarely the main source". When questioned, Nestlé management told us that it has made rodent control a priority for several years. It states that it is committed to strengthening this fight with a view to restarting its plant.
A change of flour that raises questions
The trail of contamination inside the plant is one of the hypotheses put forward by scientists, but it is not the only one. It is not excluded that the flour may have been contaminated before being delivered to the factory. This possibility was put forward by Christophe Cornu, the CEO of Nestlé France, in an interview with Le Figaro last July. And it is taken seriously by Eric Oswald, professor of bacteriology at the Faculty of Medicine of Toulouse Purpan. "It would not be usual but the flour may have been contaminated with wheat soiled by spreading or manure in the fields. The bacterium is thus latency in the flour, explains the professor. And it is when this flour is going to be remixed with water and put at temperature, that we risk having a development of the bacteria."
To counter this possibility, there is a type of heat-treated flour, that is, heated to kill bacteria. It is regularly used for the manufacture of raw pasta, more conducive to the presence of bacteria. And Buitoni, according to employees, used this type of flour until 2021 to make the dough of its Fraîch'Up range. But they claim that after that date, it is another non-heat-treated flour that would have been used. "At the beginning of 2021, there was a change of flour while it had been 20 years that we made the Fraîch'Up with the same, we were told. We had never had a problem with this pasteurized flour. And we were told: now you're going to use a classic dough that is not pasteurized. We didn't understand why." Asked about this, Nestlé's management confirmed that it had changed the recipe for Fraîch'Up pizzas, but did not give any details on the nature of the flour it now uses.
An alert, already at Nestlé, in the United States in 2009
And yet... In 2009 in the United States, contamination with unheated flour had intoxicated nearly 80 people. "The victims had eaten raw cookie dough from Nestlé's Toll Cookie Dough brand that contained the bacteria Escherichia coli," said Ilana Korchia, a French lawyer with Marler Clark, who specializes in foodborne illnesses. This firm defended 40 victims who had to be hospitalized, 10 of them developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Ilana Korchia sees in this case similarities with the Buitoni scandal in France: "It is the same brand, the same type of raw dough and the flour was already involved." Following this contamination, in 2010 the US authorities classified flour as a "dangerous" product that could cause outbreaks of Escherichia coli. Since then, in the United States, raw products to be consumed are made with heat-treated flour. And the words "Safe" are clearly indicated on the packaging.
*First names have been changed.
Employees at the Buitoni site in Caudry denounce serious health deficiencies in their factory. © Maxppp - PHOTOPQR - THE MOUNTAIN - Thierry LINDAUER
First, there is a sense of guilt. "We cogitate, we don't sleep anymore. One wonders how we got here. What did we do wrong?" Pierre* (an employee of the Caudry factory (North) where the Fraîch'Up pizzas of the Buitoni brand contaminated with Escherichia coli were made now feels the need to indulge. Since the scandal broke, he feels "responsible somewhere" for what happened. A feeling shared by many of his colleagues, including Patrick*: "These pizzas were our life, our pride," he explains with a strangled voice. Our pride turned into shame."
Then there is the shock of the closure of the factory in which they and other employees have sometimes been working for several decades. On April 1, a decree of the prefecture of the North orders the cessation of production "until the return to compliance with the regulations on hygiene". Patrick, Pierre and their colleagues then go around in circles. They continue to receive their remuneration but are worried about their future.
Finally, there is the need to give their version of the facts on the "serious shortcomings" pointed out in the decree of the prefecture of the North to justify the closure of the factory. Employees do not dispute these shortcomings. But they want to explain themselves. It is for all these reasons that they and other colleagues agreed to speak to Radio France's Investigation Unit.
They specify at the outset that they have no information on the origin of the contamination. A judicial investigation is underway to understand the causes of the poisoning that killed 56 people, including 55 children aged 1 to 15, and which caused the death of two of them.
Nevertheless, the investigation revealed deficiencies in the management of the plant. These had already been pointed out by the DGCCRF (Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention) in three reports dating from 2012, 2014 and 2020 (as revealed by the online investigative media Disclose). The presence of mold, rust and peeling paints was then discovered in the factory, as well as food moths on the production line of Fraîch'Up pizzas.
The employees' stories shed light on these excesses. "In 2012, Nestlé introduced a new way of managing the site. This is called the Lean method, explains Maryse Tréton of the CGT federation of agri-food. The goal is to minimize all times that are not dedicated to production. We reduce cleaning times and preventive maintenance times to make production as possible."
Three years later, in 2015, this reduction in cleaning time will be included in a so-called "competitiveness" plan. "Until 2015, the plant operated with 16 hours of production and 8 hours of cleaning per day," say Patrick and Pierre. After 2015, we almost double the production time to 27 hours a day (in three 9-hour shifts) and we almost halve the cleaning time from 8 hours to 4 hours 45."
"The general condition has deteriorated"
According to them, the consequences of this reorganization are not long in coming: "For us, it meant going faster on cleaning. So, the priority was to clean the production line and the machines. But not what was around, such as the walls and ceilings. It was no longer possible to do everything." Asked about this, the management of Nestlé France confirms that the cleaning time is now less than 5 hours. But it specifies that it has "systematic microbiological samples carried out in different strategic areas of the site".
This reduction in cleaning time would have had other consequences. According to the employees whom Radio France's Investigation Unit met, some areas of the factory that were cleaned at least once a year before 2015 would no longer be cleaned. "Before," explains one of them, "we closed the factory for three weeks in August. Meanwhile, the cleaning company that had a contract with the factory could do bottom cleaning. Since then, Nestlé only wants to stop the factory for one week in the summer. So the general condition has deteriorated."
27 degrees due to clogged air conditioning
In the bakery workshop where the dough of the Fraîch'Up pizzas is made, "before 2015, the air conditioning ducts were cleaned every six months-a year," explains Pierre. Now it's not done anymore and it's getting clogged. When it's 40 degrees outside, as there is sheet metal on the roofs, the temperature rises very high in the workshop, it is very hot, it can go up to 27 degrees." Gilles Salvat, Deputy Director General of ANSES's research and reference division, the National Food Safety Agency, explains: "Products such as flour that come in the form of powder create dust in the plant's environment that will then clog these filtration ducts. They need to be dismantled and cleaned much more regularly. Otherwise, the operation of the air conditioning and ventilation systems is altered. The consequence of this alteration may be, according to the scientist, a rise in temperature that leads to a risk of rapid development of Escherichia coli bacteria, although there is no evidence that this is what happened in the Buitoni plant." Asked precisely on this point, the management of Nestlé France did not answer.
Flour silos not cleaned for seven years
The health of other areas of the plant apparently left much to be desired. These are the silos, these four giant towers of the factory very visible from afar, and which each store 25 tons of flour. "Before, they were cleaned once a year, in August during the closure of the factory. Since 2015, they have not been to my knowledge," says Patrick. However, according to the European Guide to Good Hygiene Practice for grain storage that we consulted, storage places should be cleaned at least once a year.
Another shortcoming noted in the closure order issued by the prefecture: the presence of rodents in the bakery workshop. Patrick says he observed a possible crossing point for rats: "Right next to the Fraîch'Up pizza production line," he says, "there is a room where we put the raw materials. The forklift operator does not close the door every time he gets a pallet off the truck. So the door stays open and rodents can come in." However, again, according to Gilles Salvat, the presence of rodents is "obviously to be avoided absolutely in the food industry, because they are sources of very important bacterial infections, including potentially to the bacterium Escherichia coli, even if it is rarely the main source". When questioned, Nestlé management told us that it has made rodent control a priority for several years. It states that it is committed to strengthening this fight with a view to restarting its plant.
A change of flour that raises questions
The trail of contamination inside the plant is one of the hypotheses put forward by scientists, but it is not the only one. It is not excluded that the flour may have been contaminated before being delivered to the factory. This possibility was put forward by Christophe Cornu, the CEO of Nestlé France, in an interview with Le Figaro last July. And it is taken seriously by Eric Oswald, professor of bacteriology at the Faculty of Medicine of Toulouse Purpan. "It would not be usual but the flour may have been contaminated with wheat soiled by spreading or manure in the fields. The bacterium is thus latency in the flour, explains the professor. And it is when this flour is going to be remixed with water and put at temperature, that we risk having a development of the bacteria."
To counter this possibility, there is a type of heat-treated flour, that is, heated to kill bacteria. It is regularly used for the manufacture of raw pasta, more conducive to the presence of bacteria. And Buitoni, according to employees, used this type of flour until 2021 to make the dough of its Fraîch'Up range. But they claim that after that date, it is another non-heat-treated flour that would have been used. "At the beginning of 2021, there was a change of flour while it had been 20 years that we made the Fraîch'Up with the same, we were told. We had never had a problem with this pasteurized flour. And we were told: now you're going to use a classic dough that is not pasteurized. We didn't understand why." Asked about this, Nestlé's management confirmed that it had changed the recipe for Fraîch'Up pizzas, but did not give any details on the nature of the flour it now uses.
An alert, already at Nestlé, in the United States in 2009
And yet... In 2009 in the United States, contamination with unheated flour had intoxicated nearly 80 people. "The victims had eaten raw cookie dough from Nestlé's Toll Cookie Dough brand that contained the bacteria Escherichia coli," said Ilana Korchia, a French lawyer with Marler Clark, who specializes in foodborne illnesses. This firm defended 40 victims who had to be hospitalized, 10 of them developed hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Ilana Korchia sees in this case similarities with the Buitoni scandal in France: "It is the same brand, the same type of raw dough and the flour was already involved." Following this contamination, in 2010 the US authorities classified flour as a "dangerous" product that could cause outbreaks of Escherichia coli. Since then, in the United States, raw products to be consumed are made with heat-treated flour. And the words "Safe" are clearly indicated on the packaging.
*First names have been changed.
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