Fresh Cheese Company accepts fine for 2018 spill at Broadmeadows factory

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A dairy company behind a chemical spill that left authorities gagging over the "putrid, sour and rancid" smell of rotten cheese in a Melbourne creek has been convicted and fined.

The Fresh Cheese Co was today handed an $8,060 fine in the County Court of Victoria after pleading guilty to permitting an environmental hazard at Yuroke Creek in Broadmeadows close to four years ago.

The court heard that the alarm was raised by members of the public who noticed a "nauseating" smell that resembled sewage or rotting milk while walking on Ripplebrook Drive near the creek.

The reports prompted the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to send an officer who uncovered "thick white sludge" near the culvert of Yuroke Creek.

The court today heard the odour from the liquid was so powerful that Melbourne Water staff dispatched to the site to clean it up were left gagging.

Judge David Brookes said the Fresh Cheese Company had accepted responsibility for the spill.

"In all the circumstances … because of the effects of the pollution, I intend to record a conviction and fine the company the figure of $8,060," he said.

Today's proceeding was watched by one of the company's directors, Geoffrey Sharpe, who shook his head when the fine was handed down.

The company has struggled through the pandemic, exhausting its cash reserves, and next month will lose a multi-million dollar contract with supermarket giant Aldi.

After receiving reports of the spill in October 2018, EPA officers visited the company's headquarters at Riggall Street in Broadmeadows and spoke to Mr Sharpe who told them that their equipment had been tampered with during a burglary.

He told the officers that a switch which pumped fatty waste liquid from a holding tank was turned off during the break-in, causing it to overflow into a small hole between two slabs of concrete and then into the creek.

The court heard that once the hole was discovered, the business immediately repaired it and installed walls to stop future spills, as well as a new security system and flood lights.

But Judge Brookes was told that the spill had already reduced water quality in the creek.

A freshwater expert also found that there were high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus which would have increased the risk of harmful algae, putting plants at risk.

The expert also found that there were high levels of ammonia which could be "acutely toxic" to animals.

"In his opinion, there was an imminent state of danger to the environment being the flow of liquid waste into Yuroke Creek, and it had toxic characteristics," the judge said.

"Apart from this opinion, no actual measurements of concentrations were placed in evidence before me."

Fresh Cheese Company has a tenuous place in the Broadmeadows community.

The court heard a "small but vocal element" in the Broadmeadows community do not want the factory in the street and had subjected it to burglaries, graffiti and sabotage over the years, including firing ball bearings at its offices.

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