Workers at a cheese factory in Russia who took off most of their clothes and hopped in a tub of warm raw milk used to make cheese earn the top spot in this month’s edition of the Neews, food safety stories that put the eew in news.
Workers at a cheese factory in the Siberian city of Omsk that specializes in making string cheese say they decided to take a group milk bath on New Year’s Eve in celebration of a birthday. Groups of four and five men frolicked bare-chested in the milk, snapping photos of themselves. In one picture, a man holds up his wet shorts while friends smile.
Word of the food safety breach got out when one of the workers posted a picture on a social media site with the caption “Yeah, our job is pretty boring.” A YouTube video made at the same factory shows less than pristine conditions at the factory where shirtless workers in shorts and flip flops stoop over shallow pans of cheese set on the floor, kneading and pulling it with bare hands. Omsk is a food processing hub in Russia, but, in this case, not necessarily a food safety hub.
A Russian newspaper warned consumers about the problem. Health officials say they will make public the results of the investigation.
In other neews this month, it took two attempts for health authorities in Erith, England to close down an illegal tofu factory. Inspectors ordered closure of the business, which was operating in an unlicensed facility, after an inspection revealed deplorable conditions including mice infestation that affected hand and food contact surfaces, no effective hand washing facilities and “pools of stagnant water and liquid effluent” under the sink. But owners of the business continued operations after the closure was ordered. Upon receiving a tip that production was still ongoing, authorities returned to the building and closed it.
Al food on the premises was seized. Owners of the business face charges.
