Nestlé, dep't store sued for "worms" in choco

CEBU – A private school teacher has filed a civil case for damages against the manufacturers of a chocolate bar as well as the department store that sold the product allegedly found contaminated with worms.

Aileen Medecielo is demanding a total of P350,000 in moral, exemplary and compensatory damages including attorney’s fee from Delfi Foods, Inc. and Delfi Foods Marketing, Inc., Nestlé Philippines and Gaisano Country Mall after one of her children got sick because of an alleged worm-infested chocolate bar.

Medecielo, a teacher at Woodridge School, said that sometime in the evening of May 12 on her way home to barangay Apas she stopped by the Gaisano Country Mall to buy some food and chocolates for her four children.

Among the items she bought from the grocery were the Nestlé Milo Chocolate Bars.

As soon as she arrived home two of her sons, including three-year- old Eddy June, immediately ate the chocolate bars. Later in that evening her eldest son, Edail, allegedly noticed a worm in his chocolate bar when he opened it.

According to Medecielo, she and her husband’s niece, Madonna Solas, checked the label of the chocolate and saw that it was manufactured last February and will expire on August 2009 yet.

Medecielo said they checked for holes in the wrapper but found none. The complainant said that Solas, who is a nurse, advised her to observe her two sons who had eaten the chocolate bars earlier because if it was contaminated the children will suffer from vomiting, stomachache and loose bowel movement.

True enough, Medecielo said, her three year old son started vomiting the following morning and started to develop a high fever. Medecielo said she had to leave her work in school to attend to her son.

According to Medecielo, she was forced to bring her son to the doctor for a checkup because of continued fever even after three days.

From the clinic where she had her son checked up, Medecielo went straight to Gaisano Country Mall to complain that the chocolates sold in their grocery store is contaminated.

Medecielo said that together with counter checker Flaviana Acolde they allegedly saw the worms from the chocolate bars that the latter got from the items that were still on display in the grocery.

Sharon Diaz, the mall’s grocery in-charge, also reportedly saw the worms when they opened another box of chocolate bars from the shelf.

Medecielo said a certain Elpidio Arriola, who introduced himself as a key account specialist of Delfi, the company that manufactures and supplies the product to the mall, met her on the afternoon of May 16.

Arriola allegedly got the chocolate bar she bought for laboratory test in Manila, the following day Arriola allegedly texted her that his boss, Servano Avila, wanted to see her.

To her dismay, Medecielo claimed, she was only offered more chocolates as reimbursement of the expenses she incurred after her son got sick. 

Feeling insulted, Medecielo said she was forced to file the case.

She claimed that Delfi Foods and Nestlé Philipines, Inc. violated the Article 2187 of the Civil Code of the Philippines which imposes “strict liability in tort to manufacturers and processors of food stuffs for death or injuries caused by any noxious or harmful substances in their product”.

“As manufacturer and processor who are selling their own product to the public, defendants must have exercised all possible care and precaution in the preparation, manufacture or processing of their products,” the complaint read.

Delfi Marketing and the Gaisano Country Mall, as food distributor and seller, respectively, allegedly failed to exercise due care in ensuring that the product they are making available to the public are safe. – Fred P. Languido/BRP (THE FREEMAN)