Leading dairy producer Parmalat has received a prevention notice from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after neighbours allegedly complained of putrid smells coming from the North Sydney factory.
It was reported that the complaints related to Parmalat’s Lidcombe processing plant have been made over the past two months. Residents who live close by are said to have likened the smells to sewage and sour milk.
Milk can be a smelly business
The EPA initially conducted inspections of the facility and also reported smelling the foul odours. The prevention notice issued requires Parmalat to contract a qualified consultant who will be able to assess the situation and then suggest suitable solutions in order to prevent the odours from reoccurring.
EPA Manager for Sydney Industry, Greg Sheehy, reportedly said that the prevention notice was issued to provide neighbours of the Sydney processing plant with a measure of relief.
“We believe that the initial odours may have been related to 360,000 litres of wastewater that turned anaerobic so our investigations are looking into why this occurred and how the company then dealt with the incident,” said Sheehy.
“By getting an expert on-board to assess the situation we hope to get some practical solutions in place to mitigate the off-site impacts and hopefully eliminate them from re-occurring down the track,” he added.
More woes for Parmalat
The issuing of this prevention notice coincides with reports that Parmalat South Africa has completed an investigation into the contamination of around 60 litres of PureJoy apple juice. Spokesperson for Parmalat André Mahoney is reported to have said that caustic soda was the cause of the accidental contamination.
The company recalled all packets of the apple juice made on the date the contamination is said to have occurred. Mahoney explained that the accident was an isolated incident and assures the public that the company has taken preventative steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again.
As for the Lidcombe processing plant, according to reports, Parmalat have until May 17 to advise the EPA of the solutions.
The EPA encourage anyone with any odour related concerns to contact their Environmental Line on 131 555.