FSA board should back prosecution of Cadbury on salmonella - Huhne

5.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 12th Jul 2006

The Liberal Democrats have called for the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to back a prosecution of Cadbury for its failure to notify the agency about salmonella in its chocolate over a five-month period.

Liberal Democrat Shadow DEFRA Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said that the FSA board that meets tomorrow (Thursday) should ensure that Cadbury Schweppes plc are prosecuted.

The Department of Health confirmed - in a recent answer to Liberal Democrat questions - that Cadbury first informed the FSA on 19 June that they had detected Salmonella in their Marlbrook plant in January.

Mr Huhne said:

"Cadbury Schweppes has fallen well below the high standards expected of a leading food and drink manufacturer. Its failure to notify the FSA is a clear breach of its legal duty under the General Food Regulations 2004.

"This looks like a case of corporate cover-up when what was needed was an honest owning-up.

"Cadbury waited more than five months before notifying the FSA of its problem with salmonella, and also failed to notify the contamination of its products in April 2002. Cadbury should be prosecuted to ensure that all food manufacturers know that safety must come first.

"This is a test case that could determine the seriousness with which food businesses take their safety obligations. If a food giant like Cadbury can get away with sloppy behaviour, the message to everyone else will be appalling. The law must be enforced and the FSA should give the necessary backing to the local authorities involved."