a judicial investigation opened after the five suspected cases in Indre-et-Loire

A judicial investigation was opened after the hospitalization in September for suspected botulism of five people who ate canned wild garlic pesto in Indre-et-Loire, announced Tours public prosecutor Catherine Sorita -Minard, Tuesday October 1st. The investigation has been closed “to allow the referral to an investigating judge and the opening of a judicial investigation”she clarified.

The state of health of the five victims, “still hospitalized”stay “worrying”according to the same source, who specifies not having knowledge “other cases of poisoning”. In mid-September, analyzes published by the Ministry of Health confirmed the presence of botulism bacteria in this “O Ptits Oignons” brand product consumed by these people. The authorities then explained that two couples had presented themselves to the emergency room on September 7, followed the next day by a fifth person, all aged around thirty, after having participated in the same “birthday meal” in Indre-et-Loire.

The Tours public prosecutor’s office specified on Tuesday that it had retained the offenses of “involuntary injuries with total incapacity for work for more than three months through a clearly deliberate violation of an obligation of safety or prudence, and involuntary injuries by a legal entity with total incapacity for work for more than three months.” to three months for a manifestly deliberate violation of an obligation or of prudence.” As part of the preliminary investigation, the manufacturer of the preserves was interviewed and legal expertise ordered, particularly on the equipment used and the pots of pesto recovered.

Botulism is a rare and serious neurological condition, fatal in 5 to 10% of cases, caused by a very powerful toxin produced by a bacteria which develops in poorly preserved foods due to lack of sufficient sterilization. In September 2023, sixteen clients, including a woman who died, were identified as “suspected cases of botulism” after eating homemade canned sardines in a tourist restaurant in the center of Bordeaux.