Wednesday, 11 December 2019 07:55

Crackdown on dodgy raw milk sellers

Written by  Nigel Malthus
MPI may prosecute unlicensed raw milk suppliers. MPI may prosecute unlicensed raw milk suppliers.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has cracked down on unlicensed raw milk suppliers.

MPI compliance staff executed search warrants on December 3 at eight unregistered suppliers of raw (unpasteurised) drinking milk in Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Horowhenua, Nelson and Southland.

MPI’s manager of food compliance, Melinda Sando, says the co-ordinated site visits followed a year-long operation, and were to gather evidence of the offending and to allow further investigation. 

“We believe that the suppliers we visited today are operating outside of the regulatory framework. By not adhering to the rules for selling raw drinking milk, they are putting consumer health at risk.

“There have been multiple instances in the past of people getting sick after drinking raw milk from some of these suppliers. We can’t let this continue.”

Sando says unregistered suppliers have been using various tactics to continue selling their product, including selling it as ‘bath milk’ or ‘pet milk’.

“These tactics are not legal in our view and are a way of getting around the regulations and avoiding the costs associated with being compliant, including food safety testing costs, registration costs and audit costs.

MPI says a formal investigation is underway and prosecution action may follow.

The eight suppliers were directed to stop selling raw milk until they complied but all still have the option of registering and selling within the regulatory framework.

A raw milk pioneer has welcomed the crackdown. Richard Houston, managing director of Takaka-based Village Milk, says it brings everybody onto the same field.

He said it was good that MPI was “stepping up to the plate” to go after operators who wanted to run their business without proper testing, or who had “gone underground”.

Houston believed it was the first real shake-up since new rules on supplying raw milk came into effect on March 1, 2016.

It had been a long time coming, he said.

“Hats off to Melinda (Sando). She’s done a great job.”

milk glass

Current regulations require raw milk suppliers to register with MPI, follow strict hygiene and testing protocols, and to ask customers for contact details so that any discovery of potential health risks can be followed up.

Sando says all suppliers were able to take part in the consultation process on the new regulations.

“They knew what the rules were designed to do and why they were brought into effect. The suppliers need to stop selling unregulated product immediately. They’ll be able to resume selling once they have met all requirements to make them compliant. We hope they put human health first. It’s the responsible thing to do.”

MPI made no apologies for holding to account people who are breaching the regulations.

“Raw unpasteurised milk is a risky product as it hasn’t been heat treated to remove illness-causing bacteria including E. coli, listeria and campylobacter.

“These types of bacteria most commonly cause severe diarrhoea and vomiting, but occasionally some have been linked with more serious complications that include miscarriage, paralysis, meningitis and serious kidney problems in children. Raw milk may also be a source of tuberculosis.”

Sando said MPI supports consumer choice. 

“We’re not saying people can’t drink raw unpasteurised milk. What we are saying is that when people choose to drink raw unpasteurised milk, they’re able to make that choice with a degree of confidence that the milk they’re consuming is produced within the regulatory framework.

“Purchasing from MPI-registered suppliers who are being audited regularly to ensure they are managing risks and testing regularly helps consumers reduce the risks if they choose to drink this product.”

More like this

Winter grazing warning

Every time people from overseas see photographs of cows up to their hocks in mud it's bad for New Zealand.

Help available for flood-hit farmers

The chair of the Otago Rural Support Trust, Tom Pinckney, says he believes that they will be especially busy in the coming months as the enormity of the floods hit home.

Getting Onside

Time matters in a biosecurity response, says Ryan Higgs, Chief Executive of biosecurity technology company Onside.

Featured

Massey Research Field Day attracts huge interest

More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.

Expo set to wow again

Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.

A year of global challenges

As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.

National

OSPRI's costly software upgrade

Animal disease management agency OSPRI has announced sweeping governance changes as it seeks to recover from the expensive failure of…

Machinery & Products

BA Pumps expand

Cambridge based BA Pumps & Sprayers, specialists in New Zealand-made spraying equipment, has acquired Tokoroa Engineering’s product range, including the…

Entries open for innovation award

Fieldays and its renowned Innovation Awards are celebrating their 57th year, marking a longstanding tradition in the agricultural calendar, with…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Chinese strategy

OPINION: Fonterra may have sold its dairy farms in China but the appetite for collaboration with the country remains strong.

Not fair

OPINION: The Listener's latest piece on winter grazing among Southland dairy farmers leaves much to be desired.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter