The top of a dairy firm behind a Listeria outbreak in Austria faces greater than a 12 months in jail.

The boss of Käserei Gloggnitz was sentenced to 13 months in jail this week. The 39-year-old confronted a number of fees however denied the allegations and the decision was reported to not be closing, in keeping with media reviews.

A Listeria outbreak from 2020 to 2022 had 10 circumstances and brought about at the least three deaths.

Käserei Gloggnitz confronted monetary points in 2022 which led to insolvency proceedings being opened and in 2023 the closure of the plant was ordered.

Further allegations can be heard in mid-March on the Regional Court docket of Wiener Neustadt when a number of different witnesses will even be questioned.

Incident backgroundIn a January 2023 audit, DG Sante examined a file of the dairy plant linked to the outbreak. Käserei Gloggnitz had a poor compliance historical past and an inspection in 2020 recognized a number of main deficiencies. Outcomes of an inspection one 12 months later had been equally severe.

Nonetheless, these findings didn’t result in an elevated inspection frequency or enforcement till an epidemiological hyperlink between infections and the corporate was established in autumn 2022 and authorities ordered manufacturing to be stopped.

Sufferers had been six girls and three males between 29 and 82 years outdated plus a new child child. Diseases occurred in Vienna, stated the Austrian Company for Well being and Meals Security (AGES).

Käserei Gloggnitz recalled all kajmak, ingesting yogurt, and cream cheese merchandise in September 2022 due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Kajmak is a sort of cheese.

Officers discovered Listeria that matched the outbreak pressure in three environmental samples taken from the corporate in Decrease Austria. The outbreak pressure was additionally detected within the meals it produced. 

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