By THERESA GARNER
A cheese company which set private detectives on the trail of two backyard merchants hawking dodgy cheese is toasting its triumph.
A second successful prosecution in the Otahuhu District Court this week has ended a saga which began with a whiff of suspicion by the Grated Cheese Company two years ago.
This week, Colin Fry, a butcher who owns Whole Body Meats in Mangere, was fined $13,050 after being found guilty of charges relating to the Food Act.
The charges included transporting and storing cheese in a manner which made it liable to contamination, (in a truck with live pigs), wilfully selling food that could pose a risk to human health, and 11 charges of selling to bakeries around Auckland food that was unfit for human consumption.
The prosecution was brought by Auckland Healthcare and the Ministry of Health.
The Grated Cheese Company manager, Bill Walker, was delighted with the outcome.
Two years ago, a distributor had asked him why another operator was able to sell cheese for $3 a kilogram when the market price was between $4.10 and $4.70.
Mr Walker said the company spent $3000 on the private detective.
"Our main concern is one of quality; we knew it either had to be substandard, or stolen. We thought, to hell with these sorts of guys."
The investigators followed a delivery van and passed the information to the ministry.
Inquiries found the cheese was grated in the butchery, where there was a high possibility of contamination.
The information was passed to health authorities, who in April 1998 issued warnings to the public not to eat grated cheese bought from Whole Body Meats.
Mr Walker said hiring the investigator was worth it in the long run "to protect the public, and the reputation of reputable suppliers."
It is not known if anyone became sick after eating the dodgy cheese.
Last year, another man, Barry Munn, who had been trading as the Budget Cheese Company, admitted 14 charges under the Food Act and was fined $7900.
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