Dairy firm closes after recall

Owners of a Western Southland dairy factory at the centre of a food recall have decided to walk away from their business after E.coli bacteria was detected in a sample of milk. Frans and Jeanine Venekamp said their 16-month-old business had been destroyed.

Yesterday, they closed the plant and laid off two staff. Mrs Venekamp said they were disappointed in the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and media handling of the recall.

"We are talking about one sample. We spend about $4000 a month on testing. We, more than anybody else, want our product to be healthy and safe for people to use with confidence," she said. "It's not that we are a bunch of cowboys. Nobody needed to abuse our customers the way the media has reacted to this one sample."

The cause was possibly a warm sample of milk sent for testing, she said. Usually, samples are chilled.

However, after a positive test for listeria in yoghurt on October 13 she had been fastidious about testing. "We have been doing so much testing of our milk and that is why the samples were still warm and that in turn maybe why the E.coli bacteria bug was present."

When the positive test was returned, the couple were in Auckland attending the 2008 Massey University Food Awards and asked the New Zealand Food Safety Authority to handle the recall.

Normal recall procedure was a public notice in newspapers and a letter to suppliers, Mrs Venekamp said. However, it was broadcast over radio and TV and published in newspapers and online.

Authority compliance and investigation director Geoff Allen defended the handling of the recall. Because the authority could not get in touch with the couple it was important to get the recall out to prevent people from consuming the product, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News