increase font size
MannaMilk has been fined $30,000 for not following the rules that regulate the supply and sale of raw milk.
A milk business has been fined $30,000 for not following the rules that regulate the supply and sale of raw milk.
Following a successful prosecution by New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS), Manukau-based MannaMilk owner John Albert Martin was sentenced yesterday in the Levin District Court, Horowhenua.
Martin earlier pleaded guilty to three charges under the Animal Products Act, including failing to follow raw milk regulations, selling raw milk, and failing to comply with a notice of direction to cease processing and selling raw milk.
“We expect today’s sentence sends a strong message to all dairy farmers involved in raw milk production,” says NZFS deputy director general Vincent Arbuckle.
“Raw milk is inherently much more of a food safety risk than milk that has been pasteurised to kill potentially harmful bacteria.
“Producers owe it to their customers to follow the rules and take every required precaution to ensure the safety of their product. There is less risk of a person becoming ill from drinking raw milk products when they do.”
Raw milk producers must register with NZFS, meet hygiene requirements, test milk for pathogens, keep records of sales, and label appropriately so consumers were aware of the risks and could make informed decisions about consuming raw milk.
In early 2019 NZFS carried out an investigation, called Operation Caravan, to ensure farmers were following regulations in place to protect consumers.
Martin attempted to avoid the regulations by distributing raw milk to customers through a separate legal entity and claiming it was not for sale.
The investigation found Martin ignored a previous Notice of Direction to cease sales and continued to sell product illegally both through the legal entity and direct to customers.
“Mr Martin went to some lengths to avoid his responsibilities under the law. By contrast most raw milk producers follow the rules and find it easy to do so,” says Arbuckle.
“Compliance with the rules would have cost his company MannaMilk $10,000 - $15,000 a year, a small amount next to the $243,000 MannaMilk made in 2019.”
NZFS has further cases involving the illegal sales of raw milk that will be placed before the court.
A farm owner and two former Waikato contract milkers were recently fined $27,000 over a lack of feed for 230 cattle and a lack of treatment for cows suffering from milk fever.
New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) says it is supporting importer Goodfood Group in its decision to recall Food Snob and Mon Ami brand French Brie and Camembert cheeses.
A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.
Feeding infected milk is high risk for spreading diseases such as M. bovis.
Convictions and fines totalling $112,500 have been imposed on a logging company for repeated environmental damage on a farm near Wahi between August 2022 and October 2023.
Many farmers around the country are taking advantage of the high dairy payout to get maximum production out of their cows.
In 2015, the signing of a joint venture between St Peter's School, Cambridge, and Lincoln University saw the start of an exciting new chapter for Owl Farm as the first demonstration dairy farm in the North Island. Ten years on, the joint venture is still going strong.
Sheep milk processor Maui Milk is on track to record average ewe production of 500 litres by 2030, says outgoing chief executive Greg Hamill.
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton is calling for cross-party consensus on the country's overarching environmental goals.
Changes to New Zealand’s postal service has left rural communities disappointed.
Alliance is urging its farmer-shareholders to have their say on the proposed $250 million strategic investment partnership with Dawn Meats Group.
