Factories of the French dairy group Lactalis do not respect the environmental code in France, with pollution of various kinds, according to an investigation published Monday by the investigative media Disclose.
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The investigative website, which worked as part of a partnership with Mediapart, Brut, France Culture,
The Guardian
and Envoy Special (France2), was particularly interested in the industrial facilities in France of the dairy giant, which has 250 around the world.
According to Disclose, “
between 2010 and today (...) 38 Lactalis factories were or still are in violation of the environmental code
” in France, “
ie more than half of the 60 establishments listed and analyzed in the context of of this investigation
”.
Disclose was based on documents from the Regional Directorates for the Environment (DREAL) and the Departmental Directorates for Social Cohesion and Population Protection (DDCSPP).
These factories are classified installations for the protection of the environment, also called IPCE.
Discharges of effluents and pollutants into rivers
They cite as an example a cheese factory of the Lactalis group in Isère, sentenced in 2019 to a fine of 100,000 euros, including 50,000 suspended sentences for its effluent discharges into a river, the dairy company of Retiers, in Ille-et-Vilaine, a subsidiary de Lactalis, sentenced to 250,000 euros for polluting the La Seiche river, or even rejections from the Riom cheese company.
"
It is true that some of our sites may show occasional non-conformities, but each time we offer a solution quickly to resolve these incidents
", a spokesperson for the Lactalis group told AFP, highlighting "
60 million euros invested since 2010
”for the modernization of environmental tools.
Disclose also cites cases where the analyzes of pollutant discharges carried out by Lactalis do not correspond to those carried out by inspectors.
“
At one point or another, there may be non-conformities, but it doesn't stay that way.
We have inspections, we have procedures
”, reacts the Minister of Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili, according to the script of an interview with Disclose sent by the ministry to AFP.
Read also: Infant milk: the Lactalis scandal has left its mark
Companies carry out self-checks at the wastewater treatment plants of factories, but “
there are also unannounced checks
”, adds Pascal Lagrabe, deputy director of the police at the French Biodiversity Office (OFB).
