North Cork Creameries has confirmed to the Irish Farmers Journal that it is operating at normal capacity this week.

“We are processing milk this week entirely as normal, including the usual volumes for this time of year,” said a spokesperson for North Cork. There was also confirmation that processing had been reduced in recent weeks.

“For a period of time over the past number of weeks we had been diverting some milk to other processors while still processing significant volumes ourselves.”

ADVERTISEMENT

This action “related to our intention to ensure compliance with our licencing requirements in co-operation with the EPA,” the co-op said.

North Cork stressed that “this existing EPA process should not and must not be misinterpreted or conflated into the Blackwater incident”.

North Cork Co-op processes over 300m litres of milk annually at its Kanturk processing plant.

It provides employment to over 120 people, making it a significant employer in the Duhallow region.

It noted that no fish were killed on the River Allow, a tributary of the Blackwater on which the North Cork processing facility is sited.