Made-up traceability sheets, “greenish” pieces “with a disgusting smell”… The CEO of the Castel Viandes group was sentenced on Thursday to a suspended six-month prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 euros for deception by the Nantes criminal court, two other executives were released.
Sentenced for "deception on the quality of goods" and "marketing of products of animal origin detrimental to health", Joseph Viol was also released from "obstructing" health checks.
The company, based in Châteaubriant (Loire-Atlantique), was fined 40,000 euros for the same heads of prevention.
Heavier sentences if there were victims
“With this decision, the court acknowledges the fact that there were no victims, otherwise the sentences would have been much heavier.
And the release of two employees symbolizes the fact that there was neither manipulation nor organization, ”reacted to the press the lawyer for Castel Meats and its CEO, Me Benoît Chabert.
The facts examined by the court dated from 2010 to 2013.
The judicial information had been opened in 2013 following accusations made by a former employee dismissed five years earlier, who claimed that the group practiced at the time the "repackage", recycling spoiled meat from unsold meat. .
Read also Spoiled meat: the ex-employee of Castel Viandes, who wants to be a “whistleblower”, calls for the cancellation of his dismissal
Arguing that this former employee had only brought his accusations out of “personal revenge” following his dismissal, the lawyers for the three executives had rejected all the heads of prevention en bloc, ensuring that no “health risk” n had never been incurred by consumers.
