Go Farming Ltd in Otautau, which sells the brand Go 2 Raw Milk, is recalling batches 32, 33 and 34, which were labelled with the use-by dates of August 18, 20 and 21.
The Ministry for Primary Industries has released a recall notice on the batches and says no other batches of the brand are affected. The affected product should not be consumed.
The ministry says there had been no reports of illness but if anyone had consumed the product and had any concerns about their health, they should seek medical advice.
The product is sold online and is collected at the farm or delivered within the Southland and Queenstown regions. The product has not been exported.
A ministry spokesperson said positive detections were not unexpected, given that raw milk is a high-risk product. Given this, the Regulated Control Scheme that raw milk suppliers are legislated under, provides for what is required to occur when listeria pathogens are detected.
«It’s also important to note that Go 2 Raw Milk is registered with [the Ministry for Primary Industries] and is complying with what they need to do.»
The Guise family, who run the business and milk 400 cows, has closed their operation until further notice.
Listeria is a foodborne bacteria that can make you sick. Infection with listeria bacteria is called listeriosis. In healthy adults and children, listeria usually causes few or no symptoms, but some people are more at risk of severe disease.
Owner Roger Guise said a positive test for listeria came back and the family was following procedures to address the issue.
The ministry requires raw milk to be tested every 10 days but Guise said they tested their milk every week.
«It’s just better to be testing and know what’s there.»
When the positive test came back, the Guise family called everyone who had bought the milk and had a good response from customers, who were eager for them to get back to business, Roger said.
Following the detection of listeria monocytogenes in the raw drinking milk, Go 2 Raw Milk has stopped supplying the milk while they review procedures and retest the milk.
The raw milk requirements require suppliers to stop supplying raw milk as soon as they receive a positive detection and to notify their customers.The requirements also detail what steps are required to be taken before the supplier can start supplying again.
Positive detections are reported to the ministry and the supplier works with their approved verifier, including additional testing, before supply can recommence. Suppliers are not required to be removed from the registered list of suppliers.
Raw unpasteurised milk from any animal may be contaminated with illness-causing bacteria, including shiga toxin-producing E coli, listeria and campylobacter. These 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.
Ministry records show between 2009 and 2015 there were 41 outbreaks of illness where consuming raw milk was a risk factor. Of those, 90 per cent involved children between the ages of 1 and 16, and 24 were caused by campylobacter and four by shiga toxin-producing E coli.
There have been previous issues with the distribution of raw milk throughout the country.
The spokesman said because of the way raw milk was produced and in the absence of pasteurisation, it was not unusual for pathogens to be present in this product.
Suppliers are required to be verified annually and have farm dairy assessments every six months.
Source: Stuff
Link: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/96396843/positive-listeria-test-closes-southland-raw-milk-business
