Carbery coy over DSM rennet battle outcome
The case, which was referred to Ireland’s Commercial Court last November, was said to have been concluded earlier this week, according to Judge, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, reported national newspaper, The Irish Times.
However, DSM said that an agreement had been reached between the two companies regaridng the dispute, though was unable to discuss the exact terms.
The company said that some select batches of its Fromase 220XL product had been affected, though they remained in line with the group’s specifications.
A DSM spokesperson added that the company had made minor changes to its production of rennet goods last year and launched a new Fromase product in October.
A third party, Carbon Chemicals Group (CCG), is also involved in the dispute, after agreeing last March to supply Carbery with rennet produced by DSM.
Court claims
Between January and September 2008, Carbery claimed that certain batches of Fromase 220XL supplied to its operations had resulted in cheeses with a ‘soapy aftertaste’ and ‘off flavour’. An excessive contamination of the lipase enzyme was blamed for making some of its cheese products unfit for consumption, stated the Irish Times report.
Although, Carbery said that it had quarantined most cheese products suspected of contamination, the group claimed that some goods had still found their way onto the market.
In papers sent to the court, the Ireland-based dairy and functional ingredient group alleged that the fallout from using the rennet in its cheese products had resulted in losses of €10m through loss of commercial revenues with retailers.
Customers such as the Irish Dairy Board also said that it would not be paying the group for cheese already supplied as a result of the alleged contamination, said the court papers.
Irish innovation
In July last year, Carbery has moved to play up its commitments to meet growing European and international demand for added-value functional ingredients and finished products.
The group was named alongside Glanbia Nutritionals and Kerry Ingredients Ireland as part of a collaboration focused on providing innovative dairy products to ensure the country was more competitive in a changing global marketplace.
