Kassel/Korbach (dpa/lhe) – More than three years after the closure of the Wilke sausage manufacturer and the scandal surrounding products contaminated with germs, the Kassel public prosecutor’s office has brought charges against the former managing director, his deputy and the then production manager. “The accused are accused of being responsible for the fact that sausage products contaminated with Listeria were put on the market and eleven end consumers then developed listeriosis, which is said to have been at least one of the causes of their death,” said a spokesman for the Kassel public prosecutor’s office on Thursday with. Hit Radio FFH had previously reported.
According to the spokesman, the charges include negligent homicide in eleven cases, negligent bodily harm in seven cases and violation of the Food and Feed Code in 101 cases.
The company in Twistetal (Waldeck-Frankenberg district) was closed in October 2019 after Listeria germs were detected in its sausage. The germs can be life-threatening if the immune system is weakened. Health authorities then reported 37 cases of illness associated with Wilke products.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the victims, aged between 47 and 86, come from North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Berlin and Saarland.
