Wilke trial: Former veterinary chief says staff shortages stalled inspections, listeria warnings were hidden from authority

The testimony

A retired official who once headed the veterinary authority in Waldeck-Frankenberg took the stand on the tenth day of the Wilke sausage trial in Kassel. He acknowledged that the office had repeatedly found constructional defects, dirty equipment, and mould at the Wilke plant in Twistetal. An inspection in May 2019 led to a fine of 2,000 euros and an administrative offence notice after inspectors discovered old raw sausage residues on a cutter, black mould on ceilings, soiled floors and baskets, and a heavily contaminated crate washing machine. Despite dozens of such findings over the years, the authority never moved to close the facility.

Unreported listeria findings

The witness said his office had never been told about positive listeria results from the company's own internal sampling in the years before 2019. Wilke was legally obliged to pass those results on but did not.

Otherwise we would have acted differently.

He stressed that the information would have triggered a different response.

Why the plant wasn't closed

The former official argued that shutting down the 1930s-era factory would have been disproportionate. Wilke had expanded step by step over the decades, constantly adding new construction. A site like that could never be compared to a purpose-built plant and spatial constraints meant the strict black-white separation of hygienic zones was not always achievable. "The company was in the lower range," he told the court, noting that repairs were carried out even if slowly. That alone, he maintained, was not grounds for closure.

I stand by that.

Pressed by the presiding judge, he confirmed there had been talk about what a shutdown would mean for a structurally weak region (about 200 jobs) though he could not recall when or with whom.

Personnel shortages and missed inspections

The witness detailed a chronic understaffing that stretched back to 2005. Because the authority was so thinly staffed it was unable to fulfill its inspection duties, a problem it regularly reported to higher-level officials. In 2018 the office could not carry out the standard four-eyes inspection (veterinarian plus food inspector) that had been routine until 2017. Deadlines for follow-up controls were repeatedly missed, and some follow-ups were cancelled altogether.

The former head said the authority was so stretched that deadlines for re-inspections after discovered deficiencies simply lapsed. The staffing gap had been formally reported, but no remedy followed.

The charges

Three former Wilke executives are on trial: the managing director, 57, his deputy, 55, and the production manager, 58. They face charges of negligent homicide in 11 cases, negligent bodily harm in seven cases, and violations of food law. The proceedings continue before the Kassel regional court.