Reckitt target faces lawsuit over whistleblower claims
Ex-compliance chief at Mead Johnson sues for unfair dismissal over baby formula affair
Mead Johnson, the US baby foodmaker that is the target of a $16.7bn takeover bid by the Reckitt Benckiser, is being sued by a former employee alleging she was unfairly dismissed after raising safety issues over bottles of infant formula.
In the lawsuit filed on Thursday in an Illinois district court, Linda O’Risky, Mead’s former global product compliance director, alleges that in 2015 she learnt that the company intended to destroy 1m units of its ready-to-use formula because of leaking seals on the bottles.
The complaint alleges that Ms O’Risky, who had worked at Mead for more than 25 years, believed that a greater number of potentially defective bottles might still be in the market because the batches in question had been manufactured several months earlier.
Ms O’Risky argued that a defective seal could allow micro-organisms into the bottles, even if the seal was not obviously broken.
She claims that, after trying for seven months to persuade her managers to contact the Food and Drug Administration over the issue, her employment was terminated. She alleges that Mead Johnson contacted the FDA only after she lodged employment claims against the company.
Debra Katz, of Katz, Marshall & Banks, who is representing Ms O’Risky said: “It is unconscionable to allow infants, the most vulnerable among us, to be exposed to life-threatening risks. People like Ms O’Risky, who speak up about these dangers, shouldn’t suffer as a result.”
In a statement, Mead Johnson said: “Mead Johnson Nutrition is aware of the lawsuit filed by a former employee and denies the allegations in the complaint.
The company’s main focus is — and has been for more than a century — the quality and safety of our products. The packaging matter cited in the suit was thoroughly reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration, and no action was required. Mead Johnson also places a high value on maintaining an environment for our employees of openness, respect and high performance, and denies engaging in retaliation against the complainant.”
Reckitt, the UK households products group whose brands include Nurofen painkillers, Durex condoms and Finish dishwasher tablets, declined to comment.
Mead Johnson is one of the biggest exporters of infant formula to China, where demand for foreign products has boomed after a string of safety scandals over the past decade involving domestic producers.