A viral video of Russian factory workers kneading cheese while shirtless with a dirty looking production area has logged more than 300,000 hits on YouTube, leading investigators to probe the unhygienic practices in the plant.

It turned out the bare-chested photo was just the tip of the iceberg because another video also emerged that also became viral on the Internet showing the workers bathing inside a milk vat, imitating a speculated beauty secret of ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra. The incident happened during a pre-New Year's staff party.

The problem was that the guys didn't throw the milk bath after they immersed in it.

"It has already been established that the liquid that the factory workers were bathing in was the raw milk that was used for making the cheese," The Telegraph quoted a statement by an investigative committee.

The health violation was committed at a factory in Omsk, Siberia. Artyorn Romanov, an employee of the Omsk Cheese factory, posted the photos in the social networking site Vkontakte with the caption, "Actually our work is pretty boring."

A Russian court shuttered the factory, the Trading House of Cheese owned by Torgovy Dom Syra, on Thursday for 40 days, while the country's food watchdog, the Federal Consumer Protection Service, prohibited sale of its cheese since late March. Unfortunately, the plant had already sold over 49 tonnes of cheese since January in 14 Russian cities. The plant's specialty is string cheese.

The managers of the factory could be imprisoned for up to two years if they are found guilty of producing unsafe food because of the unhygienic practices of its "bored" employees.

Russian string cheese, anyone?