Its French subsidiary Nestle accused in a case with contaminated pizzaswhich is suspected to have led to death of two childrenthe company announced today.

The unit, which runs the factory in northern France that made Buitoni’s Fraîch’Up frozen pizzas as well as Nestle France’s, was brought prosecution this week, the company said in a statement without elaborating.

French prosecutors opened an investigation in May 2022 into involuntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter after several customers fell ill after consuming batches of the frozen pizza Buitoni Fraich’Up infected with the bacterium E.coli.

A company spokesman said today that prosecutors have filed charges categories against Nestle France and Societe des Produits Alimentaires de Caudry, the subsidiary that oversees the factory where the contaminated pizzas were made. Nestle suspended production of the contaminated products in March 2022.

The indictment is preliminary, that is, it exists research in progress and no decision has been made.

“Nestle France intends to take full responsibility in the case. We hope these legal proceedings will help to fully clarify the circumstances of this dramatic event and provide some comfort to the victims and their families,” the company said in a statement.

The scandal affected dozens of people in 2022. A year later, Nestle reached an agreement to compensate 63 victims and their families.