Retail Food Group cheese plant shuts with three staff testing positive to coronavirus
UPDATE: A cheese making factory in Melbourne’s north is not expected to reopen until next week after three staff tested positive to COVID-19.
UPDATE: THE Tullamarine cheese processing plant which has been hit by COVID-19 is expected to be closed for about a week while it undergoes a deep clean.
Three staff out of 151 workers at the Dairy Country plant have tested positive to the virus, forcing its closure.
The factory is owned by the Retail Food Group, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.
RFG shreds and packs mozzarella, parmesan and cheddar cheese, selling them into the food services sector but also produces retail packs under the Holy Cow and Pomodoro Bros brands for supermarket sales.
Retail Food Group told the ASX today it had closed the plant for a “deep clean” and its entire staff had been sent for testing.
Retail Food Group executive chairman Peter George said the health and safety of staff and customers was the company’s priority.
“Dairy Country’s Tullamarine facility will re-open once it has been deep cleaned and pending the availability of staff,” Mr George said.
“Dairy Country’s Campbellfield facility has not been impacted by these events and continues to operate as normal, subject to the various measures implemented to date in response to the coronavirus pandemic.”
A spokeswoman for RFG this afternoon said the reopening of the factory was subject to state Department of Health and Human Services advice, but was likely to be sometime next week.
Dairy Country is believed to be the first dairy processing plant in Victoria to be hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
It follows the closure of Ingham Group’s Thomastown processing plant yesterday after five employees tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Inghams said all staff at the plant were requested to self-isolate at home.
Managing director Jim Leighton said it was imperative to do everything possible to ensure the health and safety of its staff, communities and help assist in controlling the spread of the coronavirus.
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