Tnuva fined NIS 55m. for silicon in milk

Company stresses incident occurred 13 years ago and that it now spends tens of millions a year in quality assurance.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Tnuva milk bags 298.88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Tnuva milk bags 298.88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday ordered Tnuva to pay NIS 55 million in compensation to consumers and plaintiffs for silicon that was found in the company's milk in 1994-95. Tnuva was also ordered to pay NIS 150,000 to the inheritors of the deceased Tawfiq Rabi, who was the plaintiff in the class-action suit. Rabi sued Tnuva for having added silicon to its skimmed UHT milk cartons in violation of health regulations, then lying to the public about the practice in two full-page newspaper ads published on August 31 and September 1, 1995. Four Tnuva officials were charged with criminal acts in the affair and fined NIS 28,000 for violations of the Consumer Protection Law. After the trial, Rabi sued Tnuva and asked that the lawsuit be recognized as a class action. The Tel Aviv District Court rejected Tnuva's argument that Rabi had not suffered any harm from drinking the milk. "Tnuva intentionally misled its customers and the state's authorities that were supposed to supervise the company to protect consumers and their health," the judge wrote in the verdict. Tnuva will also pay NIS 250,000 to the Israeli Consumers Committee, which was also a plaintiff in the case. The remaining funds will be used for three major purposes: consumer benefits; donations to research funds and scholarships in the field of food, nutrition and their implications on public health; and distribution of free milk to the poor via nonprofit organizations. In response, Tnuva stressed that members of its management connected with the affair had since been replaced and that the company invests tens of millions of shekels a year in quality assurance. "The incident occurred 13 years ago. A mistake was made that today we find difficult to fathom. Following the case, the entire management connected with the case was replaced," Tnuva said in a statement, adding that its production practices had undergone significant changes since then. "The company has adopted standards of trustworthiness and transparency that are among the most strict and meticulous in the world and that have turned Tnuva into a leading company," the statement said. Dan Izenberg contributed to this report.