2月1日有報道稱，法國乳制品集團拉克塔利斯的首席執行官表示，2005年以來可能一直在出售受沙門氏菌污染的嬰兒奶粉，該危機日漸惡化，可能導致上億歐元損失。

去年，多名嬰兒飲用拉克塔利斯出產的牛奶后患病，該系列產品由法國西部一家工廠生產，均受到沙門氏菌污染。此后，拉克塔利斯在法國及全球范圍召回1200萬罐嬰兒奶粉。

法國政府部門表示，去年8月中到12月38個沙門氏菌感染病例中，有36例顯然跟拉克塔利斯的奶粉有關。受害家庭代表組織稱，還有十多個病例沒有計入官方統計數據。

拉克塔利斯首席執行官埃瑪紐埃爾·貝尼耶向法國商業報紙《回聲報》表示，此次問題奶粉查出的沙門菌菌株類型和2005年的問題奶粉相同，可能在2005年之后還影響過其他產品。

貝尼耶稱：“不能排除有嬰兒2005年至今食用過被污染的奶粉。”他還指出某家未具名私人實驗室進行1.6萬次測試卻并無結果，有效性值得懷疑。

貝尼耶稱，因奶粉受污染，拉克塔利斯已讓旗下位于法國克朗市的一家奶制品工廠停產。該工廠2005年時屬于另一個法國品牌喜麗雅，2006年被拉克塔利斯收購。

拉克塔利斯在聲明中表示：“如果對當年終端產品的分析顯示存在沙門菌，我們肯定不會在市場上銷售，一定會設法避免出現危機。”

受害者代表組織稱，得知貝尼耶的言論后十分“失望”。

該組織聲明指出：“本次事件涉及數億罐、數萬噸問題產品，銷往80多個國家，是規模空前的食品安全丑聞。”

“這意味著受害者人數可能多得多。”

貝尼耶稱，這起丑聞是“是我作為管理者面臨的最大一次危機。”

他告訴《回聲報》：“現在沒法準確估計，但可以肯定（代價）非常高，可能達數億歐元。”

他還說：“這起丑聞可能讓我們失去政府頒發的出口許可證，處罰持續多久還不能確定。”

貝尼耶沒有透露可能付出的代價。

他說，去年12月初宣布召回的奶粉之中很多已經被食用，而且召回的可能不到銷售總量的一半。

法國大型連鎖超市勒克萊克、歐尚、家樂福和U氏連鎖商場均承認，拉克塔利斯公開召回后仍在出售部分問題嬰兒奶粉。

受害者組織的律師稱，受害家庭打算起訴歐尚和勒克萊克。貝尼耶還表示，已有多宗訴訟將拉克塔利斯列為被告。（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審校：夏林

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French dairy group Lactalis could have been producing salmonella-tainted baby milk since 2005, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Thursday, adding the growing crisis was likely to cost the company hundreds of millions of euros.

Lactalis has recalled 12 million tins in France and around the world after several babies were taken ill last year after drinking salmonella-contaminated milk produced at a factory in western France.

French authorities have said there were 38 “Salmonella Agona” infections reported between mid-August and December last year, 36 of them clearly linked to Lactalis milk. A group representing victims’ families say at least 10 more cases are unaccounted for.

The same strain of salmonella was also responsible for some infections in 2005, Lactalis Chief Executive Emmanuel Besnier told French business paper Les Echos, adding it was possible other infections had occurred since then.

“It can not be excluded that babies have consumed contaminated milk over this period,” Besnier said, questioning the effectiveness of 16,000 tests performed by an unidentified private laboratory that had revealed nothing.

Besnier said Lactalis was stopping production at one of its facilities at the factory in Craon due to the outbreak. In 2005, the plant was owned by Celia, a company taken over by Lactalis in 2006.

“If the analysis of end-products had revealed the presence of Salmonella Agona, we would of course not have marketed the products and we would have avoided the crisis,” Lactalis said in a statement.

The victims’ association said it had read Besnier’s comments with “dismay.”

“These are several hundred million boxes concerned and several hundred thousand tonnes of products sent to more than 80 countries. This is a health scandal of unprecedented scale,” it said in a statement.

“This implies that the victims could have been much more numerous.”

Besnier said the scandal was “the biggest crisis I’ve ever had to face as a boss.”

“We can’t say definitively but (the cost) will be very high, several hundred million euros,” he told Les Echos.

“This case could cost us our export license for a still undetermined period,” he added.

Besnier did not give details of what the costs would be.

He said a lot of the milk recalled since early December had been consumed and that returns were likely to amount to less than half of total volumes.

French supermarket chains Leclerc, Auchan, Carrefour and Systeme U have all acknowledged that some of the baby milk remained on their shelves after the recall.

The victims’ association’s lawyer said families intended to file lawsuits against Auchan and Leclerc. Besnier said Lactalis was the target of multiple legal complaints.