Garry Jones, 38, an employee of Harvey & Brockless Fine Food Company based in Evesham, Worcester, is facing charges in court after being accused of contaminating food products.
Jones allegedly tampered with Nando’s sauce containers and hummus dips by introducing foreign objects, including ring pulls, rubber gloves, and saliva according to Worcester Magistrates’ Court.
Over the period from October 1 to November 1, 2022, Jones is said to have intentionally caused public alarm or harm by contaminating goods. Specifics include the contamination of 24 hummus tubs with rubber gloves, plastic bags, and metal ring pulls. Similar items were found in tubs of sesame and ginger dressing, sesame miso dressing, and Vietnamese chilli and ginger dressing. Jones is also alleged to have added fish sauce to dressings that were not supposed to contain fish.
Mark Hambling, the prosecutor, informed the court that Jones had been working on the production line responsible for creating the sauce and dip containers. The affected products were later shipped to restaurants across the country, including branches of the Nando’s restaurant chain.
The contamination was discovered when restaurants started to return the tubs as spoiled, which led the company to initiate an investigation. Hambling added that the restaurants where these sauces were served would typically list their menu items as “does not contain fish.”
The court was told that Jones was allegedly caught on CCTV on one occasion, creating a hole in a plastic container and subsequently spitting into it. Along with the contamination charges, Jones is also facing charges for burglary with the intent to steal from a co-worker’s residence.
Mark Turnbull, who is defending Jones, characterized the charges as “unusual”, saying he had not encountered such cases before. Jones, from Evesham, has yet to enter a plea in response to the charge of contamination/interference with goods with intent.
Jones was released on conditional bail and has been ordered to make an appearance at Worcester Crown Court on July 12.
The Workers Union Says…
Sometimes people do the craziest things. However, if true, these allegations against this worker should be treated as a warning to other workers that this kind of behaviour is unacceptable and should be dealt with by prosecuting to the full extent of the law. Someone could of easily choked or worse.
