Following recent Health Service Executive (HSE) projections of a “flattening” in the curve of Covid-19 cases, concerns regarding disruption in the dairy processing industry have eased – but the threat still remains.

As a result, senior industry figures in the dairy sector have warned against complacency at this time.

Processing of milk is going well at present, according to Conor Mulvihill, director of Dairy Industry Ireland, with business continuity planning ongoing, and good communication among processors at present.

The big issues now are to be on the lookout for rogue clusters of Covid-19 and machinery breakdowns as peak production approaches, the director noted.

Lauding the efforts of farmers and workers, Mulvihill noted that, as things stand, it looks like things are going better than had been forecast by the HSE initially.

The absenteeism projection curves are quite good, there’s enough replacements. We’re not out of the woods but that clear danger is abated.

The director stressed, however, that people should not be relaxing about restrictions.

“There’s a lot of work going on but our biggest obstacle is people who get complacent,” Mulvihill concluded.

Priority testing hopes

The dairy industry is also more hopeful on the position of priority testing for key personnel in the food supply chain, following the clearing of testing backlogs by the HSE.

As a result, the industry intends on redoubling efforts to secure testing for ultra-critical workers, of whom there are approximately 150 in the sector, to ensure the quickest return times possible to keep production moving.