To support the nutritional application Yuka in its showdown with the meat industry, consumers are putting their hands in their pockets. And the pot counter continues to run. “We raised 340,000 euros from 18,000 participants. We knew there were people who wanted to support us, but we didn’t expect a response of this magnitude ”, explains Julie Chapon, co-founder of the carrot app, which rates food products according to their composition.
Yuka appealed for help in early October, after being sentenced three times. Since the beginning of January 2021, three proceedings have been launched against the company. One emanating from the French Federation of Industrial Butchers and Caterers (FICT), the armed wing of this sector, the other assignments being made by two companies, Le Mont de la Coste and ABC Industrie, controlled by Antoine d’Espous, vice -President of the FICT. At the heart of the conflict, the presence of nitrite salts in cold meats, deemed necessary by manufacturers to ensure control of the risk of botulism and other pathogenic bacteria.
Lawyers’ and bailiffs fees
The three commercial courts seized of the matter ruled in favor of the pork-butchery industry. They demanded that Yuka remove from her app the link to a petition calling for a ban on nitrites in hams and sausages. They also asked to remove from the description of nitrites the opinion of the World Health Organization (WHO) classifying nitrites and nitrates ingested as “probable carcinogens”. The term “genotoxic” also had to be removed. Finally, Yuka was sentenced to financial penalties. In total, it will have paid 95,000 euros by the end of October. “With the costs of lawyers and bailiffs, it costs us 223,000 euros”, estimates Mme Capon. The company appealed against the convictions.
“All countries allow the use of nitrates and nitrites, except Iran. It is even compulsory in Germany. The European health authority estimated that there was no danger below 150 mg of nitrites per kilo. And a procedure is underway to change the regulations recommending a slight decrease in the threshold. The question is as much health as legal for the companies concerning their responsibility towards their customers “, argues Bernard Vallat, president of the FICT, who says he is ready to dialogue with applications, including Yuka.
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