Conroy's Smallgoods has been accused by John Hill, the South Australian Health Minister of indulging in media games after a deadly bacteria infected its factory. Hill called upon the company set right the problem at the earliest. A strain of the listeria virus was found in the Bowden factory of the company by the Health Department, resulting in its corned beef unit being closed down for a week.
The bacteria has already claimed two lives in the country in recent times, and two more are reportedly recovering from the infection. A conveyer belt of the organization had tested positive to listeria in spite of it having been cleaned over 16 times. The company is confident of resuming production by Christmas, but Hill has other views as the Health Department has to be convinced that its products are safe before permitting it to commence production.Hill also has strong objections to the media conferences of the firm after the listeria outbreak, and said that the Government will not succumb to pressure tactics. The company on the other hand has warned that it will be compelled to retrench more workers if it was prevented from resuming production. A total of 30 casual workers have already lost their jobs. The company is expected lose A$ 2 million as a result of the listeria outbreak.
