The owner of a cheese company fears reputational damage after its discarded product was stolen from a Waikato landfill and resold.
Police are investigating reports that two people in Putāruru resold previously dumped Over The Moon-branded cheese at a local market and on Facebook Marketplace.
Over The Moon notified New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) about the incident.
Owner Sue Arthur expressed horror upon learning their discarded product was being resold.
“It was actually being sold out of a supermarket shopping trolley on the footpath by people who are not authorised to sell it.”
“We’re a small business in rural New Zealand. It’s been tough trading this year. It’s just so disappointing and upsetting that all our hard work is being undermined by such illegal activity.”
“The staff are absolutely devastated. I do worry it’s going to affect sales.”
Arthur explained that the discarded cheese failed to meet the company’s internal quality standards, with no issues affecting cheese sold through authorised retailers.
“The rest of our cheese is absolutely fantastic quality.
“The product in question didn’t look credible,” Arthur added. “We want to assure people that if they buy our products through their usual trusted retailers, they have no reason to be concerned whatsoever.”
Food Safety deputy director-general Vince Arbuckle said he had never encountered a situation like this before.
“This is very unusual. We have around 80 consumer recalls a year, where there is a product that needs to be securely disposed of. But it’s a very rare event that somehow, someone intervenes and secures it and tries to resell it.”
“In this case, Over the Moon Cheese did all the right things as far as we can see. They did a secure and appropriate disposal.”
“This is a company that’s worked hard to build a brand. They’re an excellent company. It’s heartbreaking for them to see somebody misusing their products, so we really feel for that company.”
He was unaware of the landfill’s ownership and noted that police are investigating how the cheese was taken.
“We will work with the appropriate authorities to see what can be done to stop this, and if there are any lessons learned that can be shared with other food businesses.”