Nestlé corporation accused of killing many fish

Translated from Dutch NOS radio today:

Nestlé sued for thousands of dead fish in French river

A French fishing federation is suing food corporate giant Nestlé after finding thousands of dead fish in a river near a Nestlé factory. “Everything is dead over a length of seven kilometers,” says the fishing federation.

The dead fish were spotted on Sunday night in the river Aisne near the village of Challerange, between Reims and Verdun. According to local authorities, the fish died from a lack of oxygen in the water. The Ardennes fishing federation estimates the damage at several thousand euros and wants this to be paid by Nestlé France, the owner of the factory in Challerange. Where milk powder is made for in coffee cups.

“Fourteen fish species have been affected,” the federation told AFP news agency. “Including the protected eel and the lamprey.” Volunteers from the Fish Federation and the Fire Department have been working all week to remove dead fish that have washed up. At least 1 ton of fish has already been removed. The banks of the Aisne are off-limits until further notice because there are still many fish that are decomposing by the heat.

The factory says that a liquid was indeed accidentally spilled into the river on Sunday evening. …

It is still being investigated what exactly was in the water.

Nestlé food unsafe, whistleblower says

This 26 December 2017 video says about itself:

The whistleblower: Yasmine Motarjemi alone against Nestlé

Translated from Dominique Soenens in Belgian weekly Humo, 2 March 2020:

How safe is Nestlé‘s food? “They have killed people”

Food safety is not a priority for Nestlé, says Yasmine Motarjemi, who was responsible for it for ten years at the largest food company in the world. She was fired when she insisted on taking measures, but now she has won the lawsuit against her former employer in Switzerland. “Nestlé is thinking of the shareholders, not the consumers.”

Nestlé corporation scandals

This video from the USA says about itself:

Chocolate Bunnies, Slave Labor, and Water Theft: The Horrible Nestlé Story

20 January 2018

Recently it was discovered that the Nestlé corporation had been abusing their water permits in California, essentially stealing millions of gallons of water to bottle and sell to consumers in one of the most drought-ravaged states in the country. But Nestlé’s disgusting story goes far beyond water stealing. Attorneys Mike Papantonio and Peter Mougey discuss this.

Switzerland-based Nestlé is the biggest food corporation in the world.

Related articles

• DuPont poison scandal in the USA
• 6 Places Where Nestlé Is Threatening Local Communities with Its Bottled Water Plans
• “Our Water, Our Future”: Voters in Oregon Defeat Nestlé’s Attempt to Privatize Their Water

Nestlé horse meat scandal

From Reuters:

Nestle withdraws beef products after horse DNA found – FT

Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:29pm GMT

Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, removed beef pasta meals from shelves in Italy and Spain on Monday after tests revealed traces of horse DNA above 1 percent, the Financial Times online reported, citing a company statement.

Swiss-based Nestle, which just last week said products under its labels were not affected by the escalating horsemeat scandal, said it had informed the authorities, the FT reported.

Nestle was not immediately available for comment.

The discovery of horsemeat in products labelled as beef began in Ireland last month and has rapidly spread across Europe, resulting in several product withdrawals and government investigations into the long and complex food-processing chains that criss-cross the continent.

Nestle withdrew two chilled pasta products, Buitoni Beef Ravioli and Beef Tortellini, in Italy and Spain, the FT said. Lasagnes à la Bolognaise Gourmandes, a frozen product for catering businesses produced in France, will also be withdrawn.

(Reporting by William Waterman; Editing by Michael Roddy)

Related articles

• Walmart Tied To Horsemeat Scandal (huffingtonpost.com)
• Still more horse meat found in European ‘beef’ products (euronews.com)
• Where’s The Beef! Horsemeat Scandal Reveals U.S. Illegally Exports Horses & European Meat Tainted With Drugs (rtfitchauthor.com)
• EU experts plan horsemeat response (bbc.co.uk)
• Horse meat scandal: France eases ban on meat firm at heart of scandal (thenewstribe.com)
• Now horsemeat is found in school dinners, pub burgers and hospital meals (standard.co.uk)

Fijian women in New Zealand slavery

This video is called Unions Back Nestlé Fiji Workers Fighting Poverty Wages.

From Women’s Views on News:

Fijian women in New Zealand accuse employer of slavery

11 June 2012

Helen Thompson
WVoN co-editor

Two Fijian domestic workers have accused their employer of keeping them in conditions of slavery in New Zealand.

The unnamed Wellington businesswoman is facing 12 charges including exploiting people not entitled to work in New Zealand, not paying the minimum wage or holiday allowances, providing false information to an immigration officer, and procuring a breach of a visitor’s visa.

The women claim that even though their employer promised to pay them $200 a week, they actually received $40 for working a seven-day week, which they say involved round-the-clock childcare plus housework.

Their employer did not provide adequate food for them and they were forced to spend their own money to eat, sometimes sharing a can of sardines when their funds ran low.

They also said that the Wellington businesswoman confiscated their passports and forbade them from talking to anyone outside their workplace.

In a written statement, one of the women said: “I was just like a slave to them. I did not feel free at all.”

When one of the women complained about their working conditions, the employer told her she could go and work in a strip club, “like a prostitute”.

One woman was employed between June 2010 and October 2011 and received $4560 for this period while the second woman worked from February to October 2011 and earned $1320.

According to Alun McGowan, Labour Inspector, if the employer had paid her employees the minimum wage, they would have earned $66,285 and $34,367 respectively.

However, based on their working hours, they should have earned considerably more.

In October 2011 the Fijian women sought the help of New Zealand immigration officials when they realised their working conditions were exploitative.

This case highlights the plight of domestic workers internationally. According to Suzanne McNabb of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Women’s Council:

“The number of domestic workers is growing internationally but their conditions of employment are among the most exploitative and abusive of any group of workers.”

Backed by international trade unions and domestic workers’ groups, the Council endorsed a “12 by 12″ campaign on 8 March 2012 to encourage 12 countries to ratify an international labour organisation convention to protect the rights of domestic workers and end what McNabb calls “modern day slavery” in several countries.

Such a convention would provide guidelines for domestic working conditions and ensure that cases like that of the two Fijian women, will be less likely to happen.

See also here.