A health scandal of a rare magnitude. The Paris prosecutor’s office has announced that it has opened an investigation, in particular for injuries and manslaughter, after several dozen serious cases of contamination linked to the bacterium Escherichia coli (E.coli) have been identified in recent weeks throughout France. Two children died and dozens of others could have lifelong consequences. Although the health authorities have already established a link with the consumption of Buitoni pizzas, many questions remain unanswered. 20 minutes make the point.
Why is the Paris prosecutor’s office seized of the case?
If the information was made public last Friday, the Paris prosecutor’s office has, in fact, opened an investigation in particular for “deception”, “endangering the lives of others”, “involuntary injuries” and “involuntary homicides” from March 22, after the divestiture of the parquet floors of Nancy and Saint-Malo. Ile-de-France is not the region with the highest number of cases – nine, against sixteen recorded in Hauts-de-France or eleven in New Aquitaine – but the Paris prosecutor’s office is one of the only two, with that of Marseille, to have a “public health” centre. “This type of investigation requires special expertise, in particular because of the technical nature of the offences”, specifies a judicial source. And to add: “This also makes it possible to have a global vision despite the transregional aspect of this file. »
How many complaints are there?
This is, at present, very difficult to estimate. In Bordeaux, for example, the prosecution is currently seized of two complaints from parents whose children have been contaminated by a bacterium. But the nature of it is not yet identified, indicates to 20 minutes the public prosecutor, Sébastien Baumert. And to specify: “investigations are in progress to determine if it is indeed the same E.coli strain as the files already falling within the competence of the Paris public health center. »
For the time being, only two prosecutions, Saint-Malo and Nancy, therefore, have officially withdrawn but their number could increase sharply in the days to come depending on the first investigations, as in Bordeaux. According to Santé Publique France, of the 75 cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome – the serious complication linked to the E.coli bacterium – identified, 41 have “similar characteristics” and 34 are still under investigation. Several families have already announced that they have filed a complaint or their intention to do so.
Do the investigations relate only to Buitoni pizzas?
No. The analyzes carried out by the health authorities have indeed established a link between several cases and the consumption of pizzas from the “Fraîch’Up” range from Buitoni, but these suspicions need to be confirmed. Thus, the factory which produces them in the north of France is singled out but the tests carried out have all come back negative. Moreover, in this file of unprecedented magnitude, nothing indicates for the moment that all the cases concerned are linked to the consumption of these pizzas.
The investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office does not, in fact, target any natural or legal person. It relates – as is systematically the case at this stage of the investigations – solely to the facts. Clearly: the analysis of the various cases identified could effectively confirm the suspicions of the health authorities, but the responsibility of third parties could also be established, like subcontractors or suppliers. This is what the investigations of the Central Office for the Fight against Damage to the Environment and Public Health (OCLAESP), the General Directorate of the Gendarmerie, the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and for the repression of fraud (DGCCRF) and the national brigade for veterinary and phytosanitary investigations.