Court proceedings continue against seven defendants involved in deadly Listeria outbreak in Spain

The Listeria outbreak, which occurred in Spain in September 2019 and led to more than 220 cases and at least 3 deaths, is being revisited in court in Seville this week.

The outbreak was reported in late August 2019 to the World Health Organization via the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN).

7 defendants are being tried for offences which include alleged crimes against public health and injury to a fetus resulting in abortion, as reported by foodsafetynews.com

If convicted of civil liability, Seville Council will have to pay compensation, Pilar Ordoñez has commented.

The outbreak resulted from “La Mecha” brand chilled roasted pork, produced by Seville-based food company Magrudis. As well as the deaths the Listeria outbreak caused, six abortions also had to be carried out.

The defendants on trial include married couple Jose Antonio Marine Ponce, administrator of Magrudis, Encarnacion Rodriguez Jimenez, in charge of the company’s production and self control system, as well as their children Sandro Jose and Mario Marin Rodriguez.

The charges against those tried are concerned with their poor performance in a public service role. The company administrators and accomplices have been criticised for not collecting enough product samples, not checking surfaces, or collecting samples of the interior environment to ensure that the production factory met the necessary hygiene conditions.

Magrudis food company has been investigated as part of Operation Monocy by the Civil Guard with the help of Europol.

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