Says the Coles spokesperson: ‘‘We’re sorry to be the bearer of bad news, however, we can confirm that one of the largest manufacturers of Cottage Cheese in Australia has gone into voluntary administration and this has caused a strain on the supply of all cottage cheese products around the country.
‘Please be assured that we are working to reestablish a supply as fast as possible.’
Coles’ statement was met with shock on one Facebook group, who shared the message. ‘It’s worse than we thought,’ wrote one. ‘Does that mean we’re not going to have cottage cheese for a really long time?’ asked another.
In September Brancourts dairy processing company went into administration after 124 years in business. The company has been making cheese - including cottage cheese, sour cream, haloumi and yoghurt - for Australian consumers since 1895, and are a key supplier of cottage cheese to supermarkets.
And while administrators were hopeful of finding a new owner for the business, the company had been forced to stand down more than 50 staff.
United Dairyfarmers of Victoria President Paul Mumford told the ABC that tough times in the dairy industry had taken its toll.
‘We have seen stress at the farmer level for numerous years and it's now being transferred to the processing sector, and with the closure of Dennington and Tongala in Victoria the manufacturers are hurting,’ he said.
