Three former candy testers have filed lawsuits against Cadbury for feeding them some sort of experimental sweetener and other products that affected their ability to taste. They say they would like to know what the substances were.

From the Star-Ledger:

“I know they did something bad to us,” said Magliaro, of Denville. “I want to know what they gave me.”

Montville attorney Robyne LaGrotta filed three lawsuits in Superior Court in Morristown against Cadbury and Spherion Atlantic Enterprises LLC, a staffing company that hired the three Morris County women to work at Cadbury’s research facility in East Hanover. The lawsuits became public today.

Cadbury spokeswoman Katharine Beyer said the United Kingdom company, which has its U.S. headquarters in Parsippany, would not comment on pending litigation.

On the second day of testing the mysterious sweetener, one of the testers “developed eight pustules on her tongue and had a reaction under her tongue and along her right lower cheek.” The testers claim they were fired after they started asking questions about the substance and the testing procedures at a staff meeting.

“It’s as if they weren’t taking us seriously,” Zuccarini said. She said she has a chronic metallic taste in her mouth and her tongue burns if she drinks carbonated beverages or tastes mint. “I don’t know when it’s going to stop.”

Tasters file lawsuits against Cadbury [NJ]

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