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South Africa: 'Poison Pineapples' Case for Court
South Africa
Sunday 02 March 2008
The Eastern Cape pineapple industry is to take Protea Chemicals to court next month, seeking 45 million EUR in damages over claims that fertiliser the company imported from Hong Kong contained higher levels of the heavy metal cadmium than specified.
As a result, the industry, which previously accounted for about 3% of the world's canned pineapples, was expecting turnover to be half what it normally was.
Summerpride Foods, the region's only remaining cannery, and about 40 farmers are expected to sue Protea Chemicals, owned by JSE-listed chemicals and explosives company Omnia Group, which allegedly imported the zinc sulphate fertiliser from Hong Kong company Zimcon. Summerpride Foods MD Pierre Tilney said the local farming industry, which was reliant on canning for income, had lost tonnage, while Summerpride had merged with rival Collondale and retrenched almost 400 staff after the contamination.
Tilney said that, while the industry was continuing to operate, it was no longer canning pineapples. The cannery was producing only pineapple juice and pineapples were no longer being canned in SA. However, the June harvest was expected to be free of cadmium after farmers had rehabilitated the ground, a huge cost they hoped to recover through the lawsuit, said Tilney. By mid-year, Summerpride would be in a position to reconsider whether to resume canning or not. But even on a small scale, this would be difficult as skills would have left the region, Tilney said. Summerpride retained its canning equipment when it closed down its canning operations. Cadmium was first detected in a canned consignment headed for Europe in November 2006, when testing found levels of the metal in products shipped to Switzerland did not comply with European regulations. The products were voluntarily withdrawn and the industry put testing measures in place. This was not the first incident of contaminated fertiliser. More than two years ago Rainbow Chicken brought legal action against Protea Chemicals after finding unacceptable levels of cadmium in a feed pre-mix. Noseweek magazine reported this month that the company had settled out of court. Noseweek mentioned other incidents of contaminated fertiliser, such as that sold to citrus farmers in Citrusdal and animal feed supplier Advit.
As a result, the industry, which previously accounted for about 3% of the world's canned pineapples, was expecting turnover to be half what it normally was.
Summerpride Foods, the region's only remaining cannery, and about 40 farmers are expected to sue Protea Chemicals, owned by JSE-listed chemicals and explosives company Omnia Group, which allegedly imported the zinc sulphate fertiliser from Hong Kong company Zimcon. Summerpride Foods MD Pierre Tilney said the local farming industry, which was reliant on canning for income, had lost tonnage, while Summerpride had merged with rival Collondale and retrenched almost 400 staff after the contamination.
Tilney said that, while the industry was continuing to operate, it was no longer canning pineapples. The cannery was producing only pineapple juice and pineapples were no longer being canned in SA. However, the June harvest was expected to be free of cadmium after farmers had rehabilitated the ground, a huge cost they hoped to recover through the lawsuit, said Tilney. By mid-year, Summerpride would be in a position to reconsider whether to resume canning or not. But even on a small scale, this would be difficult as skills would have left the region, Tilney said. Summerpride retained its canning equipment when it closed down its canning operations. Cadmium was first detected in a canned consignment headed for Europe in November 2006, when testing found levels of the metal in products shipped to Switzerland did not comply with European regulations. The products were voluntarily withdrawn and the industry put testing measures in place. This was not the first incident of contaminated fertiliser. More than two years ago Rainbow Chicken brought legal action against Protea Chemicals after finding unacceptable levels of cadmium in a feed pre-mix. Noseweek magazine reported this month that the company had settled out of court. Noseweek mentioned other incidents of contaminated fertiliser, such as that sold to citrus farmers in Citrusdal and animal feed supplier Advit.
