With the announcement on Tuesday linking Rombola Family Farms to the Listeria outbreak, the family run business has reassured the community they are conducting further investigations to identify, quarantine and remedy the source of the listeria.
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Packers and growers from the MIA however are uncertain of the potential impact to the MIA and wider Riverina this outbreak will have, with concerns supermarkets may boycott the region.
Woolworths have come forward and made reassurances they remain committed to the industry in the Riverina.
Rombola Family Farms said in a statement they remain ever vigilant to food safety and contamination risks and are focused on working to achieve a resolution for all stakeholders
"We remain committed to the industry and the Riverina region.”
- Woolworths spokesperson Adam Quinlan
“We have been working cooperatively with the Authority, and directly with the entire supply chain to assist with further investigations and to identify, quarantine and remedy the source of the listeria,” they said.
Financial Controller for Hanwood Fruit and Vegetable Wholesaler Rinaland, Brad Stinson said while they appreciate the difficulty Rombola Family Farms is facing, there are a lot of concerns over job and profit losses across the MIA and wider Riverina in the backlash.
When asked if they would continue to buy produce – namely melons, from the MIA and Riverina, Woolworths spokesperson Adam Quinlan said they take food safety seriously and await guidance from the NSW Food Health Authority, but “remain committed to the industry and the Riverina region.”
However Coles Supermarket said rockmelons would remain off sale until the investigation into recent contamination issues has been resolved, and gave no indication when sales would resume.
“At Coles we take food safety very seriously, and as such rockmelons will remain off sale until we are confident that the investigation into recent contamination issues has been resolved,” a spokeswoman said.
The announcement disclosing Rombola Family Farms as the source of the outbreak was made by the NSW Food Authority on Tuesday.
The Authority said they were working with Rombola’s to determine the exact cause of the outbreak, which infected 17 elderly people across the country and killed two Victorians and two people from NSW.
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Rombola Family Farms have taken all actions to voluntarily suspend operations in the potentially affected types of melons, “in line with our commitment to upholding the best interests of consumers.”
“As a family business we are all too aware of the impact the outbreak is having on fellow growers and the wider industry.”
“We remain ever vigilant to food safety and contamination risks and are focused on working to achieve a resolution for all stakeholders.”