Ballymaguire Foods Listeriosis Outbreak – Irish Times
Ballymaguire Foods: Navigating a Crisis Amidst Product Recall
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The Hoeys brought in Spelman, a chef, to run the new business. It has grown consistently since 2008, reaching its first big staging post in 2015, when it announced plans for a new factory and to hire 100 more workers.
In October 2022, while many businesses grappled with inflation and soaring energy costs, Ballymaguire pledged to spend €25 million over five years on a further expansion and on recruiting 200 new staff.
Not everything has gone their way. Fingal County Council recently refused them permission to build an anaerobic digester, which converts farm waste to gas that can be used as fuel, on their site at Lusk. They are appealing that ruling.
Sources say that the brothers have always used new technology and machinery to give themselves an edge over rivals in quality and efficiency. “Michael in particular likes to think outside the box a bit,he’s always interested in new ideas,” said one.
While their various ventures grew,the Hoeys kept themselves out of the limelight. They own their businesses mostly through unlimited companies, allowing them to avoid public scrutiny of their accounts.
“They are very private, very unassuming, they’re definitely not showy,” said one insider. But that person points out that the Hoeys are popular and respected in their community and industry.
“I think it’s fair to say that they will be devastated by what’s happened this week,” said the source,adding that they will be aware to that rebuilding Ballymaguire’s reputation is going to be difficult.
None of Aldi, Musgraves or Tesco, the supermarkets mostly subject to the product recall, would comment this week when asked if they would continue to stock Ballymaguire ready meals, or what action they would expect of the company.
For now, it is indeed understood that they and Ballymaguire are focused on the recall and on taking whatever steps the FSAI demands.
In the meantime, the company has appointed former FSAI chief executive Patrick Wall to lead its response to the crisis, which involves a review and possible overhaul of its production processes. Ballymaguire said it will not restart production until the “relevant authorities are satisfied”.
*This article was amended on July 26th to clarify that a person died with listeriosis