January 20th 2025.
A couple purchased Aptamil baby milk for their newborn, unaware that it had been sitting on the store shelf for years past its expiration date. It was a shocking discovery when their five-week-old baby had to be rushed to the hospital after being fed the formula, which was almost nine years old. The incident occurred on February 8 of last year in Navan, a town in the beautiful Republic of Ireland.
The parents had bought 13 bottles of Aptamil from a branch of Dunnes Stores, a popular retail chain in Ireland. Two days later, while feeding the baby, the father noticed that something was not right. The baby became sick and refused to drink any more of the milk. Upon closer inspection, the father noticed discoloration in the bottle and checked the packaging. To their horror, they realized that the best before date was June 9, 2015 - a staggering nine years ago! Another bottle they had purchased had a best before date of February 3 of the same year, making it five days past its expiration date.
In a state of panic, the parents took their baby to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for observation. Thankfully, the baby did not require any treatment and was discharged the next day. However, the incident was reported to the authorities when a doctor contacted the Navan branch of Dunnes Stores. On February 14, a senior environmental health officer spoke to the deputy store manager, and a stock check was performed. It was found that eight bottles of baby formula with short best before dates had been removed from the shelves.
The following day, Dunnes Stores' head office was notified, and an official investigation was launched by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI). In court, Dunnes Stores pleaded guilty to a single count of failing to inform the authorities immediately of any potential harm that their products could cause to human health. The company's lawyer, Brian Gageby, stated that it was an unusual case and a mystery to his clients how the lone bottle of infant formula had been on the shelf for almost a decade.
Dunnes Stores claimed that they regularly conduct three-month stock takes on baby food, where any products with a shelf life shorter than four weeks are removed. However, they have now increased the frequency of stock checks to monthly, taking the matter extremely seriously. The lawyer also pointed out that the case had fallen through the cracks, and the HSE and FSAI should have been notified immediately.
The court was informed that Dunnes Stores has no previous convictions and has been operating in the Republic of Ireland for many years, with 118 stores and over 17,000 employees. As a gesture of goodwill, the company agreed to pay all costs, including legal fees and investigation fees amounting to over €23,000. The company secretary, Tom Sheridan, was present in court, and their lawyer stated that they were willing to make a significant contribution to charity.
Judge Eirinn McKiernan ordered Dunnes Stores to pay a sum of €10,000, which will be split between three charities - Barnardos, Foróige, and MCDAR. The case will appear in court again in four weeks to ensure that the donation and costs have been paid. This incident serves as a reminder for companies to be vigilant and ensure that their products are safe for consumption, as the health and well-being of consumers should always be a top priority.
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