Coca-Cola has “temporarily suspended” operations at its Fairlife dairy business in the US after a ransomware incident.
In a statement issued at just after 4pm EDT yesterday (16 July), Coca-Cola confirmed it detected “unauthorised access” to a section of its network, including production-linked systems, by a third party.
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The company did not identify any ransomware group involved and gave no indication of when operations might be restored.
“The full scope, nature and impacts of the incident are not yet known,” the US drinks giant said.
Coca-Cola said it has launched an investigation, brought in “outside advisors and cybersecurity experts” and informed law enforcement.
It also sought to assure consumers that the quality and safety of the products “have not been impacted”.
Coca-Cola’s operations in Canada are unaffected, the company added.
Fairlife was established in 2012 by Mike and Sue McCloskey through a partnership involving Coca-Cola and dairy cooperative Select Milk Producers, which was founded in 1994 by the McCloskeys.
Coca-Cola took full ownership of Fairlife in 2020.
Through the Fairlife business, the company markets ultra-filtered fresh milk beverages, flavoured milk products including its Yup range, and protein shakes sold under the Core Power label.
In March, Coca-Cola revealed plans to invest $650m for the addition of new production lines at its Fairlife plant in Coopersville, Michigan.
Commercial production from those new lines is scheduled to begin in 2028.
At the same time, the company said production would begin later this year at a new Fairlife facility in New York state.
Coca-Cola also operates another Fairlife site in Goodyear in Arizona.
