Page 7 - Case Studies 1 Belgian & Dutch Toxic Eggs Teaching Note

A2 De facto, no! Both governments took the decision
not to report the problem. In the case of Belgium

they knew about the problem since early June 2017

but, there is some justification in that Belgian law
prohibits commenting on judicial investigations. For

the Netherlands there were no mitigating

circumstances they knew as far back as November

2016 but failed to act.

Q3 Up to 10 million of the contaminated eggs may have

been sold in Germany. Is this significant and should

it be a concern to the German government?

A3 Yes! Any product that may cause injury or death is a

concern for any government. Action should not be

decided on cost/benefit analysis.

Q4 Is there any difference between the actions of the

government delaying informing the public of the

health scare and that of a company like Aldi doing
the same?

A4 Yes! Aldi is in the frontline. It has a duty and a

responsibility to its customers as well as its

shareholders. The cost of doing nothing would not

outweigh the loss in revenue from customer

backlash reputational damage, and legal actions

taken against it. At the beginning of August, after

the report on Belgian broadcaster VRT it was