Cadbury fined £1M over salmonella contamination

Cadbury has been fined £1M by Birmingham Crown Court over its handling of last year’s salmonella outbreak.

Cadbury is the first food manufacturer to be successfully prosecuted under EU General Food Law for failing immediately to inform the authorities of a potential food safety problem.

Cadbury pleaded guilty to three offences contrary to the General Food Regulations 2004 and Food Hygiene Regulations 2006. These were: placing unsafe chocolate on the market; failing to inform the competent authorities; and failing to identify hazards from contaminated chocolate and critical controls to ensure food safety.

The company was fined £700,000 plus £52,000 costs. It was also fined £300,000 plus costs of £100,000 after pleading guilty to six offences brought by Herefordshire Council relating to hygiene at its Marlbrook chocolate crumb factory.

Councillor Neil Eustace, chairman of Birmingham City Council’s PublicProtection Committee, said: “This case should warn all food manufacturers,however large, that they should have adequate safeguards in place to ensure their products are of the highest standards and quality. To sell contaminated food which is likely to make people ill will not be tolerated in this country.”

Richard Lodge, Birmingham City Council’s head of food safety, said: “This case is very significant as it involves a large, well-respectedmanufacturer, a major employer and one of the strongest brand names on the market. The decision to prosecute was not taken lightly and reflects the seriousness of the offences and the company’s decision to keep important information relating to the safety of its products from the relevant authorities. The company actively placed chocolate products on the market which they should have known would make people seriously ill.“