Buitoni
Buitoni is an Italian food company that produces a range of pasta and sauces. The company exports products to about 50 countries and offers private-label production services. Due to Nestlé's dark history, Buitoni, as part of the Nestlé group, is also a target for boycotts.
E. coli Outbreak
Buitoni's frozen pizzas, particularly the "Fraich'up" line, were linked to E. coli illnesses in France in 2022. This led to investigations and a factory closure. In March 2022, a Buitoni factory was shut down after inspections revealed poor hygiene practices following E. coli cases linked to their pizzas. Multiple cases of E. coli intoxication were reported among children across France, resulting in severe illness and even death in two cases.
Authorities stated the inspections.
highlighted a degraded level of food hygiene control in the Caudry plant, which justified the issuance of an order to cease industrial production activities in the plant.
Other Buitoni pizza lines, like "Bella Napoli" and "Four à Pierre," were identified as the cause of other E. coli intoxications in France. As of March 2023, the factory that produced the contaminated pizzas is still permanently closed.
Meat Adulteration Scandal:
In 2013, traces of horse meat were detected in Buitoni products in Spain and Italy as a result of the 2013 meat adulteration scandal, and had to be withdrawn.
Sources:
- Les Echos E. coli : le préfet du Nord interdit la production de pizzas dans l'usine Buitoni
- Midi Libre E.coli chez Buitoni : perquisition à l'usine de Caudry où auraient été produites des pizzas contaminées
- Le Point Pizzas Buitoni : d'autres gammes incriminées
- Reuters Nestle withdraws pasta meals as horsemeat scandal spreads