Nestle closes French Buitoni factory hit by E.coli outbreak

PARIS (Reuters) - Swiss packaged-food giant Nestle is closing a frozen-pizza factory in northern France that saw sales fall sharply after an E. coli outbreak last year, it said on Thursday.

The group had suspended operations at the factory, which French media said employs 140 people, earlier this month.

French prosecutors last year opened a probe over the death of one person, the injuring of 14 others and breaches of food safety requirements which they alleged were linked to the E.coli outbreak at the factory, which produced frozen pizzas.

French media have reported that two children died and dozens of others fell ill after eating contaminated Buitoni-branded frozen pizzas produced at the factory.

"The plant was facing sales forecasts well below the volumes that had been expected when the plant reopened in December," Nestle said in a statement announcing the closure of the factory.

(Reporting by Kate Entringer, writing by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)