Editorial: Happy days
OPINION: The year has started positively for New Zealand dairy farmers and things are likely to get better.
Raw unpasteurised drinking milk from Central Hawke’s Bay producers Lindsay Farm is being recalled following detection of Campylobacter as part of their routine testing programme.
Lindsay Farm is a registered provider of raw milk.
The recall affects Lindsay Farm brand organic raw drinking milk with a use by date between 6 March 2021 and up to and including 21 March 2021.
The affected product is sold in the Hawke’s Bay region at seven registered depots and home deliveries. The product is sold in 2-litre plastic bottles.
Campylobacter bacteria can cause severe gastrointestinal illness in people, and can be particularly serious in young people, the elderly, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems.
New Zealand Food Safety’s national services compliance manager, Melinda Sando, says people with Lindsey Farm organic raw drinking milk at home should visit MPI’s recall website to check if it is among the batches of recalled product.
“If you have any of the recalled product, throw it out or return it to your supplier, or heat to 70°C and hold at this temperature for one minute. If you don’t have a thermometer, heat the milk until it nearly reaches a boil (or scald the milk) before drinking it.”
Sando says that raw milk is more risky than pasteurised milk because the process of pasteurisation kills harmful bacteria.
“You can get sick from consuming raw milk. If you have health concerns after drinking the product, seek medical advice.”
In people with weakened immune systems, such as those with a blood disorder, Campylobacter occasionally spreads to the bloodstream and causes a life-threatening infection.
Human campylobacteriorsis (Campylobacter) is a notifiable disease in New Zealand, meaning any cases must be reported to public health authorities.
Additional reductions to costs for forest owners in the Emissions Trading Scheme Registry (ETS) have been announced by the Government.
Animal welfare is of paramount importance to New Zealand's dairy industry, with consumers increasingly interested in how food is produced, not just the quality of the final product.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay is encouraging farmers and growers to stay up to date with weather warnings and seek support should they need it.
The closure of SH2 Waioweka Gorge could result in significant delays and additional costs for freight customers around the Upper North Island, says Transporting New Zealand.
OPINION: The year has started positively for New Zealand dairy farmers and things are likely to get better.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Director General Ray Smith believes there is potential for an increase in dairy farming in New Zealand.