Bega Cheese

OVERALL
Owned	AUS
Rating

Dairy product manufacturer

Founded in 1899 in the Bega Valley, NSW. Today the company is a major cheese producer supplied by 500 dairy farms from NSW and VIC, with one factory in Bega and two in Victoria. Acquired 70% of Tatura Milk Industries in 2007, and the remaining 30% in 2011. Changed corporate structure from a co-operative to an unlisted public company in 2008, and listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in 2011. All Bega branded cheese products are marketed in Australia by Fonterra. Acquired the Vegemite brand and Kraft license from Mondelez Australia in Jan 2017.

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PRAISE	CRITICISM	INFORMATION
Bega Cheese Ltd
Australian Packaging Covenant signatory Signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, a voluntary agreement to encourage waste minimisation. [Source 2017][More on Packaging]		Fined for excessive smoke In Dec 2015 the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) issued a $15,000 penalty notice to this company for using wet sawdust fuel in its wood-fired boiler at the Lagoon Street premises, leading to a discharge of excessive smoke. [Source 2016][More on Habitats] GM-Free brands Brands owned by this company were rated 'green' in Greenpeace's 2011 Truefood Guide, signifying a clear policy on excluding GM-derived ingredients, including oils derived from GM crops, and animal products from animals fed on GM crops. [Source 2011][More on Genetic Engineering] Organic products Some of this company's products are certified organic by NASAA. [Source 2018][More on Eco-Certification] Environmental claims This company has environmental claims, policy documents and a Sustainability Report on its website. [Source 2016][More on Sustainability Reporting] Former CEO guilty of child sexual abuse In 2014 a former CEO of Bega Cheese pleaded guilty to multiple charges of child sexual abuse on the NSW far south coast. Maurice Van Ryn sexually abused and indecently assaulted six boys at his Tathra home over the past eight years. Van Ryn was CEO of Bega Cheese from 1990 to 2005. [Source 2014][More on Human Rights] No tax paid in 2016/7 According to data released by the Australian Tax Office in Dec 2018, this company was one of 2,159 local and foreign-based companies that paid no tax in Australia in 2016-17. Please note however that companies pay income tax on profits, not revenue (total income). While some companies use tax havens and loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of tax in Australia, other companies that paid no tax have perfectly legitimate reasons. [Source 2018][More on Finance]

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Related News

Vegemite set to return to Australian ownership
20th Jan 2017 — Vegemite is set to return to Australian ownership after dairy company Bega announced it would buy most of Mondelez International's Australia and New Zealand grocery and cheese business.

The deal does not include Philadelphia products but will see Australian ownership of Kraft-branded products, including peanut butter, cheeses and mayonnaise.  [source]