Prison for poultry farm managers that hid fatal salmonella contamination
A poultry farm owner and manager in Lunteren, Gelderland have been found guilty of endangering public health by selling eggs contaminated with salmonella enteritidis. The District Court of Zwolle issued its verdict, sentencing a 51-year-old company director and 43-year-old manager to six months in prison and 200 hours of community service. The incident came to light when a group of employees from a different company in Germany gathered for a company barbecue in June 2017. Eight employees fell ill, and tragically, a 22-year-old worker died as a result of the sickness. Investigation revealed that all eight had consumed eggs contaminated with salmonella. This tragedy prompted an investigation at the Wouterswoude location of the Lunteren poultry company, where salmonella contamination matching the samples taken from the victims in Germany was discovered. The eggs used for the barbecue had originated from the poultry company in Gelderland. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) had no knowledge of this contamination as positive samples had been deliberately concealed on behalf of the company. Additionally, the poultry company was fined 80,000 euros.
