Milk debate on review list

Fairfax

MILK MATTERS: the theory about the potential harm of the common strain of milk produced by New Zealand cows has been revived with explosive new claims about the country's dairy industry.

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The Swedish scientist appointed to review New Zealand's handling of food-safety matters is well aware of the controversy surrounding A1 and A2 milk.

The Government last month asked former Swedish National Food Administration deputy director-general Dr Stuart Slorach to review the decision-making processes used by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA).

The review has eight terms of reference, approved by Food Safety Minister Lianne Dalziel , and will focus on the way the NZFSA deals with the A1-A2 milk debate and other high-profile issues, including the control of campylobacter in poultry, aspartame as a food additive, imported foods, and raw milk in roquefort cheese.

Speaking to The Press from Stockholm, Slorach said he planned to have his review completed by the end of March and hoped to compare food-safety management processes in Ireland and Denmark with those used in New Zealand.

He was scheduled to arrive in New Zealand today and would spend about three weeks here.

"I have received some material from the food safety authority already - some of the documentation - but I'm coming down to New Zealand to interview people, get more information," he said.

"Then I will be visiting one or two other countries in Europe to compare systems with those in New Zealand - probably Ireland and Denmark -- and I know more or less what is going on in Sweden," he said.

Ireland and Denmark were similar "in many ways" to New Zealand, in terms of their population and dependence on exports of meat and dairy products.

Slorach was unsure yet if he would talk to Professor Boyd Swinburn, who authored a report on A1 and A2 milk and human health, which he and others subsequently said was spun by the NZFSA to give a degree of certainty to his findings which was not warranted.

Slorach was aware of debate around the A1-A2 milk issue.

"I will be talking to people in the NZFSA, people from the consumer side and industry side, (and) other people who have expressed opinions about the way the food safety authority has handled this issue," he said.

A second independent review, looking at the science behind A1 and A2 milk, is now being organised.

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