Chelsea Sugar (also known as the New Zealand Sugar Company) has been fined $149,500 for importing and selling sugar products tainted with lead.
More than 970 tonnes of products were manufactured from sugar contaminated during sea transportation from Australia, resulting in the company recalling thousands of products in late 2021.
Two more recalls were needed when it was revealed incorrect information was provided to supermarkets resulting in more tainted goods being released to consumers.
There is another way to deal with this kind of stuff, fines may be effective. But if you want to ensure that this kid of thing doesn’t happen. Look to the health and safety regulations.
Making the board / CEO criminally responsible, will achieve the the thing you want, rather than the decision makers paying out other peoples money (shareholders) which doesn’t hurt them directly, make them personally responsible.
If they are found to be negligent, then it follows that they go to jail…watch how quickly this kind of thing changes.
Also make it not beholden to them continuing to work at the company they fucked up at, so if this happened and was only discovered years later, the CEO who has moved on to fuck up at another company can still be held liable.
That’s way better.
I’d entirely forgotten we have that kind of option available.