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Arla Foods has announced plans to conduct a strategic operational evaluation of its speciality cheese facility in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, UK. The co-op has put its Melton Mowbray creamery, also known locally as Tuxford & Tebbutt, up for sale. Arla said in a statement: "The business will be exploring the market for any buyers of its Melton Mowbray creamery". The Melton Mowbray facility, which currently employs 60 people, will remain in operation throughout this period, with no disruptions to production, customers or employees. Fran Ball, VP of production at Arla Foods, said: “At Arla, we are committed to supporting all colleagues through periods of change and we understand that today’s announcement will bring a sense of uncertainty for those who work at Melton Mowbray and those who work directly with the site team". “Over the last few years, the speciality cheese market in the UK, which includes Stilton, has continued to decline, and as a farmer-owned cooperative, we are therefore looking at what this means for our business so we can continue to return a fair price back to our 2,000 UK farmer owners." “Here at Arla Foods, we are proud of the heritage that we have from our creameries across the UK. We are privileged to employ some of the finest cheese makers in the country, which includes those at our Arla Melton Mowbray Creamery UK." “We’d like to reassure shoppers that there will be no impact to the supply of our products, during this review period.” The dairy cooperative expects to deliver an update on the review by April 2024.