Zorbas suspends food processing operations

A. Zorbas & Sons Ltd. (ZRP) proceeded with the immediate suspension of its food prcessing operations, in effect terminating its take-away food division activities after at least eight customers were poisoned for consuming food purchased from two of its retail outlets in Nicosia.

According to the first laboratorial analyses held by the government owned chemical laboratory, they have located staphylococcus in some samples of ZRP’s food. The Company is fully collaborating with the Sanitary Services of the government to carry out an exhaustive health control and take all necessary measures for the preservation of any similar actions.

Press reports stipulate that the Ministry of Labour is preparing a penal prosecution and the reference of the Company to the Court subject to the completion of the laboratory findings. First indications refer to the unsatisfactory way with which the company was transporting the processed food from its main centre to the 11 in-house take-away retail outlets.

The Minister of Health praised the company for going public and its decision to temporarily suspend the operations of the affected division and the fact that it is cooperation fully with the authorities. ZRP CEO Costas Zorbas said the issue of food safety is the highest at Zorbas and this is why the company suspended the operations of the division until the time that it finds out exactly what caused the problem.

ZRP operates a total of 11 in-house take-away food sections, which are estimated to generate revenue of 10.000-12.000 per month, according to Egnatia research. According to management the maximum period of the suspension is expected to last for 10 days. We expect that the impact of the suspension will be negligible for FY06. Take-away food sections consist of 4% of the Company’s annual revenues, notes Egnatia.