Dive Brief:
- Nestle lawyer Remy Wyler has requested that a Swiss judge increase security when CEO Paul Bulcke and three other company executives testify in a lawsuit brought against Nestle by a former employee.
- "In the Oct. 6 letter, seen by Bloomberg News, Wyler urges [Judge Katia] Elkaim to get in touch with Nestle security chief Enrique Rueda, to prepare for the 'eventuality where activists take advantage of the opportunity of the hearing to create trouble,'" Bloomberg reported.
- Former food safety manager Yasmine Motarjemi claims she was harassed before being fired in 2010 after she warned the company about food safety violations.
Dive Insight:
"Motarjemi says that she was fired in January 2010 after her repeated attempts to flag food safety lapses, first over excessive levels of vitamin A and D in infant formula, were ignored. Motarjemi will testify at a Dec. 1 hearing in her case against Nestec SA, Nestle’s research and development arm, before Bulcke and others are heard Dec. 16," according to Bloomberg.
"Regarding the quality of our products, Ms. Motarjemi’s claims are completely groundless. The safety and quality of our products are our absolute priorities, and we do not tolerate failures in this area. It is for this reason that we had to part ways with Ms. Motarjemi in 2010," Nestle said in a statement.
Motarjemi is asking for 2 million Swiss francs ($2.1 million) to take care of her legal and medical costs and half of 10 years of lost earnings.
Motarjemi also says that Nestle has countersued her for violation of professional secrecy, but Nestle has not confirmed that allegation.