A spokesman for Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the Camperdown Dairy Company, from Victoria’s south west, had agreed to suspend exports until the department was satisfied milk quality issues had been rectified.
«It is important to note that the non-compliances related to milk quality issues, not food safety issues,» the spokesman said in a statement.
«The department received a letter from Chinese authorities acknowledging the trade suspension and requesting information from other establishments producing pasteurised milk for the Chinese market.
«This request is not related to non-compliance, but rather to clarify the processes in place to ensure the quality of Australian pasteurised milk products».
The head of Camperdown Dairy Company denied there were safety issues with the pasteurised milk it exported to China.
CEO Peter Skene said there was confusion about who was responsible for shelf life and keeping the product cool once it had left Australia.
«The request was to validate the shelf life. Just checking that the product will last the full time,» he said.
«We put a voluntary temporary hold on that. We sell the milk to an importer, and we don’t actually control it from there.
«We don’t control their cool rooms, the refrigeration and transport in China and ultimately at the retailers, so it’s very hard for us to do a validation right down the supply chain.»
Mr Skene said the disruption was leading to broader concerns about the difficulties in accessing the lucrative Chinese market.
«Long term we would like to grow more and more products into China, and more products into China,» he said.
«Having said that, there is a disproportional amount of management time and resources involved in a smaller quantity of milk compared to the domestic market.
«The complexities seem to be growing all the time.»
Source: ABC
Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-02/camperdown-dairy-company-faces-suspension/7807922