CADBURY’S FINED £1 MILLION

16-07-2007

Bournville chocolate maker Cadbury has been fined £1 million plus £152,000 costs at Birmingham Crown Court today after it admitted poisoning 42 people with salmonella.

Birmingham and Hereford Council bought the prosecutions after damage was discovered to a drainage pipe at the company’s processing plant in Marlbrook.

Cadbury pleaded guilty to 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 case uncovered a culture of secrecy within the firm, because although they discovered salmonella samples on four occasions between 2002 and 2006, they failed to inform the relevant authorities - and that was despite 14 routine visits from environmental health officers.

Richard Lodge, Birmingham City Council’s head of food safety, said: “This case is very significant as it involves a large, well-respected manufacturer, 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.