Buitoni () is an Italian food company based in

Sansepolcro Sansepolcro, formerly Borgo Santo Sepolcro, is a town and ''comune'' founded in the 11th century, located in the Italian Province of Arezzo in the eastern part of the region of Tuscany. Situated on the upper reaches of the Tiber river, the town ...

. It was founded in 1827. They are known for their factory-produced products of pasta and sauces. In 1985, the Buitoni family sold the company to

Carlo De Benedetti Carlo De Benedetti (born 14 November 1934) ''"Sfide perse e vinte: Repubblica-Mondadori"'', ''Gazzetta di Mantova'', 10 March 1998, webpage is an Italian industrialist, engineer, and publisher. He is both an Italian and naturalized Swiss citiz ...

; in 1988, it was acquired by

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

. In 2017, Nestlé began a brand reorganization and licensed a variety of Buitoni frozen ready meals in Italy to

Frosta AG Frosta Aktiengesellschaft (stylized as FRoSTA) is a frozen food company headquartered in Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany. The corporation owns production facilities in Germany and Poland, with sales and distribution subsidiaries in the Czech Repub ...

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Information

Buitoni produces a range of

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, are som ...

and sauces. The company exports products to about 50 countries and offers private-label production services. Casa Buitoni is located up in the hills of Tuscany along with the fields of tomatoes, wheat, vegetables, herbs, and olives. It was the house of Giulia's grandson, Giuseppe, and it now serves as a company product development center. Buitoni products are created and sampled in the casa, which includes a test kitchen, demonstration workshop and communications center.

2013 meat adulteration scandal

In February 2013, traces of

horse meat Horse meat forms a significant part of the culinary traditions of many countries, particularly in Eurasia. The eight countries that consume the most horse meat consume about 4.3 million horses a year. For the majority of humanity's early existen ...

were detected in Buitoni products in Spain and Italy as a result of the

2013 meat adulteration scandal The 2013 horse meat scandal was a food industry scandal in parts of Europe in which foods advertised as containing spicy beef were found to contain undeclared or improperly declared horse meat – as much as 100% of the meat content in some ca ...

, and had to be withdrawn.

2022 E-Coli scandal

In March 2022, the Prefecture of France's North Department (59) banned production at one of Buitoni's sites in

Caudry Caudry () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Its inhabitants are called theCaudrésiens. The town is mostly known as the Capital City of French Lace (along with Calais). Caudry station has rail connections to Douai, Cambr ...

. Multiple cases of E-Coli intoxication reported within children across France, resulting in serious illness and even death in two cases, were linked to the consumption of Buitoni's "Fraich'up" frozen pizzas. Sanitary inspections held on 22 March and 29 March by local authorities revealed serious hygiene issues within the factory. Authorities stated the inspections "highlighted a degraded level of food hygiene control in the Caudry plant, which justified the issuance of an order to cease industrial production activities in the plant". Photographs obtained by RMC and testimonial from a former employee of the plant reveals the extent of the neglect of basic hygienic procedures at Caudry production site. Paris public prosecutor's office opened an investigation into Buitoni on the charges of involuntary homicides, deception, and the endangerment of others. As of May 2022, other brands of Buitoni frozen pizzas such as "Bella Napoli" and "Four à Pierre" were identified to be the cause of other E-coli intoxications in France and subsequently recalled from sale.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Italy, Companies Italian pasta companies Food and drink companies established in 1827 Italian brands Nestlé brands Italian companies established in 1827