At the opening of trial in the long-awaited case Sunday, attorneys for the defunct Israeli distributor of Remedia baby formula said that the court was trying the "small fish" Israeli distributors of the faulty formula, instead of the real culprits – its German manufacturers.
On trial for the deaths of 3 infants, as well as for serious developmental damage to 20 other infants, are former Remedia chairman Gidi Landsberg and other company officials, as well as Health Ministry and customs officials at the ports of Haifa and Ashdod, all of whom are accused of failing to adequately test the deficient formula. The formula, fed to young infants and purporting to be an adequate substitute for breast milk, was missing Thiamine, an essential nutrient.
The defense attorney said that the failure to bring to trial in Israel officials of the German firm Humana, makers of Remedia, was a failure of the Israeli justice system. The Israeli distributor asserts he had no idea there was a problem with the formula, and relied on the German manufacturer for quality control – and the quality control issues that resulted in the deaths of six infants in 2003 should be taken up with the Germans, the Remedia attorney said.