Embattled French dairy chief breaks silence over salmonella scare

Paris:  The chief executive of France's Lactalis group on Sunday vowed compensation for victims of salmonella-tainted baby milk, as he revealed that recalls were now under way in 83 countries.

Emmanuel Besnier, giving his first interview in nearly 20 years as head of the family-controlled company, told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper that the recall involved more than 12 million packages of Picot, Milumel, Celia and other brands of powdered baby milk.

"We are going to draw the lessons from this crisis and set out an even stricter hygiene framework, in collaboration with the authorities," he said.

Asked why he had not publicly addressed parents' concerns as worries about the outbreak intensified, Besnier said: "It's true, by nature I'm not very forthcoming."

"In a crisis like this, we act first, and perhaps I didn't take the necessary time to explain things."

A total of 37 babies have fallen ill in France as a result of the contamination, health authorities said late Friday, along with a case in Spain and a suspected case in Greece, but Besnier said no new cases had been reported since December 8, a week after the recall was announced.

The French government welcomed the pledge to reimburse victims, but said investigations would continue to determine why the contamination went undetected.

Officials will also investigate why in some cases the affected milk continued to be distributed in supermarkets, pharmacies and even some hospitals after the recall was announced.

"Compensation is good, but money can't buy everything," government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told BFM television Sunday.

"When you have a case of milk on the market which has clearly caused complicated health problems for children, it means at some point there was negligence," Griveaux said.

Besnier's explanations "at this point" have not been sufficient, he added, vowing that the investigations "will not spare anyone", including the French state.

'Not hiding things'

Besnier's interview included two of the first public photographs of the secretive leader in years, at the Lactalis headquarters in Laval, western France.

It came after French finance minister Bruno Le Maire summoned Besnier to a meeting over the crisis Friday, in which the chief executive agreed to pull from store and pharmacy shelves all products from the Craon factory where the outbreak was found, instead of just those dating back to February.

But Besnier did not appear with Le Maire at a press conference after the meeting, despite calls by several government officials for him to face the public.

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against the group by families who say their children got salmonella poisoning after drinking powdered milk made by the company.

Richard Ferrand, leader of President Emmanuel Macron's LREM lawmakers in parliament, said all efforts would be made to find the causes of the crisis, and did not rule out the creation of a parliamentary inquiry, sought by opposition groups.

But Besnier, 47, denied claims by an association of victims' families that Lactalis had lied about the dates and number of stocks affected by the salmonella outbreak.

"This is false. I don't know what this claim is based on," he said.

"At no point was there any intention of hiding things."

Harsh spotlight

Besnier also defended the decision not to inform the authorities that internal tests had discovered salmonella on a broom and on the tiles of a dehydration tower at the company's Craon factory in August and November last year.

"For us, these 'environment' tests are an alert to make sure we keep the bacteria far from the product," he said, adding that authorities would have been alerted only if bacteria were found in the powdered milk.

Created in 1933 by Besnier's grandfather, Lactalis has become an industry behemoth with annual sales of some 17 billion euros ($20.6 billion), making it the world's third-largest dairy group, behind Danone and Nestle.

The salmonella scare has cast a harsh spotlight on an executive and a company little known to the public, despite employing 15,000 people in France, where milk and cheese are proudly considered part of the country's heritage.

Analysts say the crisis could dent the company's reputation among anxious parents worldwide.

"This recall may undermine consumer trust in milk formula brands produced using milk from French farms in the emerging markets affected by the recall, which includes China," said Raphael Moreau, a senior analyst at Euromonitor.

Here are the top things to know about the reclusive head of one of the world's biggest milk and cheese producers:

Dynasty

Born in 1970, Besnier lived most of his life in the Mayenne department of western France, home to the Lactalis headquarters in Laval where his grandfather Andre Besnier founded the company in 1933.

His family owns a castle surrounded by forest near the village of Entrammes, and his children once went to a local private school.

But now "the entire family has moved to Paris," according to a local journalist.

Low profile

If Besnier has ever given an interview to the press since taking over the company when he was just 29 years old, it has yet to emerge.

The few public photographs of him that exist date from more than ten years ago.

"I've asked around with former classmates from primary and secondary school. They all say the same thing: He was very private and he still is," says Philippe Jehan, president of the FDSEA agriculture union for Mayenne.

Being given the reins at such a young age may have reinforced his desire to stay out of the spotlight.

Besnier's secrecy extends to the company, which refuses to disclose financial details, and has accepted penalities instead of filing accounts with France's corporate registry.

Taking charge

After a humble beginning as a maker of camembert, the company, which long carried the family name, was pushed onto the global stage by Besnier's father Michel, also known for his cultivation of secrecy.

It changed its name to Lactalis in 1999 as it bought two cheesemakers in the United States, shortly before Michel's death in 2000.

Emmanuel Besnier, who has an older brother and a sister, then took over, proceeding with a series of international acquisitions that have made it the world's third-largest dairy group, after Danone and Nestle.

Last year he ranked among the 10 wealthiest people in France, according to Challenges magazine.

Hard-nosed

Besnier has long drawn the ire of French dairy farmers, who accuse the industry leader of using hardball tactics to drive down wholesale prices.

Standoffs over pricing are regular occurences, with negotiators often faced with a chief executive who refuses to budge an inch -- a stance that can also test the patience of government officials.

In 2011, Lactalis refused to supply its President butter, Societe roquefort and other household cheeses to the Leclerc supermarket chain for over a year over a pricing dispute.

"He's a young leader, but the way he acts with producers, we feel like we're back in a previous century," Henri Brichart of the FNPL milk producers' association said during talks in 2012, accusing Besnier of "paternalism".

In January 2017, after a group of milk producers voiced their complaints in an investigative programme aired by France 2 television, Lactalis broke its contract with the group.

Besnier also filed a complaint against the programme for "infringing on privacy" for showing images of his castle at Entrammes.