Premier and Grossman ‘not at fault’ for botulism
Grossman’s agent, Peter Schnabl, said the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) announcement that no contamination had been found at the firm’s factory at Bury St Edmunds means the responsibility for the outbreak lies further down the supply chain.
He said: “The whole incident is obviously regrettable. But the FSA has found that no contamination occurred at the factory which means responsibility lies with the consumer or retailer.
“Everyone is trying furiously to find out what happened but as far as Premier and Loyd are concerned the FSA’s findings show that they are not at fault.”
Hospitalised
Following the admission to hospital of two siblings with suspected botulism earlier this week, a third child from the same family has also now been hospitalised. The siblings had all eaten the Loyd Grossman sauce made by Premier Foods.
The FSA is now focusing its investigations on whether a jar of Loyd Grossman Korma sauce may have been contaminated after it left Premier's control, a Premier statement revealed.
The agency is looking into the possibility that the product was contaminated during transport and storage.
Bob Spooner, group supply chain director at Premier, said: “We remain very concerned for the family involved and very much hope the children recover fully.
“We are pleased that the FSA has found nothing, to date, to suggest that a problem occurred in our factory and we remain confident in the quality of our products and processes.”
The company will continue to assist the authorities in any way we can to help find the true cause of the contamination, he added.
Turbulent
Premier initially ordered a recall of a batch of 350g jars of Loyd Grossman Korma sauce, with a best-before date of February 13, last Sunday (November 13).
The incident was the latest blow for the firm which has had a turbulent year as it battles to tackle soaring debt, under the stewardship of ceo Michael Clarke.
Analysts described Premier’s year as an “annus horribilis” despite the firm recently agreeing a deal with its banks to delay a financial covenants test due at the end of the year.
This latest set-back represents the “worst possible food safety development imaginable” as the firm approaches the all-important Christmas trading period, analysts have said.
The FSA’s findings to date will be welcome news for Premier after Clarke said a focus on the firm’s eight power brands, in which loyd Grossman products are included, was key to saving the struggling firm.
Analysts said it was too early to say what effect the scare will have on sales but expressed concern that consumer interest in the product may be affected.
Julian Wild, food group director at Rollits, told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “It can’t be helpful. A Botulism problem is never a good one as it is very rare. This is clearly not good news.
“The average consumer tends not to worry about batch numbers and specific dates and will simply decide not to buy a specific product anymore, so this inevitably could have a long-term impact on sales.”
