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Arla Foods latest food producer to confirm coronavirus cases

Dairy food producer Arla Foods has confirmed nine employees at their factory in Yorkshire has tested positive for coronavirus.

The company, based in Settle, said all workers and contractors onsite will now be tested and remain open this week until the final results are known.


A spokesman for the company said: “With the UK lockdown further easing it is expected that confirmed cases will arise, but taking early precautionary steps will help us in our efforts to contain this.

“All of our sites have continued with production since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Settle site has reported nine confirmed cases in the last week, and whilst this is relatively low, given the close knit community at Settle, the contractors that have been visiting the site for essential work and the short timeframe in which the cases have been confirmed, we have decided to implement full site testing for our colleagues and all contractors.

“This decision has been made with the support of the local authority and Public Health England.”

The company, known for its Scandanavian-based foods, said that additional safety measures have been introduced with shift patterns being altered to reduce cross-contamination.

North Yorkshire County is Council is also working closely with Arla Foods since the outbreak was confirmed.

This is the fourth food manufacturer within the UK to confirm several colleagues testing positive for covid-19 this month.

Dessert factory Baakavor in Newark reported 72 of their workers have the virus, while almost 300 people at sandwich factory, Greencore in Northampton had positive test results.

Global fruit distribution centre Fyffes Group Limited has confirmed an outbreak of coronavirus after 10 staff members tested positive.

All 186 workers at the Coventry-based site at Cross Point Business Park site are now being tested as a precaution.

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Called FedPlus, the scheme offers a range of discounts on a host of goods and activities, from everyday purchases to luxury products.

Through FedPlus, Fed members will have access to a range of fantastic money-saving benefits covering a wide variety of areas – from health and well-being to home and car essentials, and from food and drink to fashion and tech, entertainment, travel and experiences.

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Members can access the scheme through thefedonline.com website. It went live yesterday (October 31).

FedPlus is managed and run for the Fed by Parliament Hill Limited, which has been providing benefit management solutions for membership organisations for the past 20 years. Top name companies offering discounts include Virgin Experience Days, Nuffield Health, Hotpoint, Halfords, Boots, Curry’s and EE.

Tom Sparke, joint managing director and client services director at Parliament Hill, said: “We are looking forward to working with the Fed to assist them in the fantastic support that it provides for its members.

“The Fed has a strong commitment to supporting its members, which aligns with the Parliament Hill ethos of placing the needs of our clients’ members at the heart of what we do.”