Raw Milk Producers Association of New Zealand submission on discussion document

This was a submission on sale of raw milk to consumers – MPI Public Discussion Paper No: 2014/22

Thank you for listening to the submissions presented to the last round of consultations in 2011.
The RMPANZ was formed in the light of the anticipated law changes that we are now consultingon. Raw Milk producers are concerned that any law changes will affect this group more than any other group or individual.

In our first year as an organization our membership exceeded 50, and as such considers our group to be the first point of contact for MPI in consultation and development of any or all options.

The discussion documents recognize the RMPANZ as an interested party of some substance, with a good number of members operating as Raw Milk producers for many years. As such we have many skills, experiences and alternative research, and would like to assist in the process of making new legislation. The RMPANZ represents interests in a large portion of all raw Milk sales and we welcome all opportunities to work for improved public health while not limiting freedom of choice.

We agree that the present laws for raw drinking milk are outdated and therefore need updating. Raw Milk is a food and as such no longer needs exemption from the current laws in this country. But it does not deserve to be singled out either, and we suggest it should get the same treatment as all other fresh perishable food.

We also ask that a clear distinction be recognized between Fresh Raw Milk drinking milk, and Raw Milk produced for further processing. And this distinction needs to flow right through from the regulatory process, all the way to the reporting processes, so that in the future any raw milk illness reported recognizes the difference.

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The Problem

Firstly, defining raw milk is key to defining the problem.
The Raw Milk Association NZ would like to point out that the description of raw milk page 3 from the discussion paper No 2014/22 and from the definition of raw milk 2.1 from the technical paper No 2014/12 defines a substance that is un-contaminated. In pursuit of accuracy and clear focused discussion the association would expect the Ministry to re-define raw milk (as referenced in all the recent surveys of raw milk MPI study, Fonterra study 5.2 MPI Technical paper 2014/12 ) from NZ farms as contaminated raw milk.

With reference to this the association would further expect the Ministry to then consider the other raw milk that exists (de-contaminated raw milk as described in the discussion paper No 2014/22 section 8.1.1 third paragraph and with reference to the milk tests attached) as a separate but parallel area for discussion.

Question 1

The Association agrees with the problem described but only under a more accurate definition, thus allowing discussion on firstly food borne illness that results from drinking contaminated raw milk (Factory Milk) and secondly discussing minimal food borne illness risk from drinking de-contaminated raw milk(Drinking Milk).
The Association contends that this illness risk debate must be streamed to the two distinctly different products requiring two distinctly different control regimes.
The Ministry’s contention that an increased incidence of raw milk based human illness is indisputable but the re-definition of raw milk would then question ”which milk is causing the increased incidence of illness”.  The quantity of contaminated raw milk (intended for processing in factories) would in the Association’s opinion contribute the vast majority of the increase in raw milk based illness.

People in NZ do not yet understand that fit for intended purpose factory supply raw milk is highly contaminated with bacteria and pathogens and will choose this milk as it is often cheaper and more readily available.

The Association does not contend that the de-contaminated rawmilk produced by most of the members is totally free from contaminants but does contend that the level of contamination is hugely reduced. (see milk test results attached)
Now that we have clarified the need for two definitions of Raw Milk, we wish to comment on the evidence directly associated with illnesses from raw milk, which is very lite as presented in Appendix 1, Paper No 2014/12. The majority of the illnesses listed could have come from anything else the patients ate, drank or touched.

If the number of illnesses presented were infact from raw milk farms, then we would expect our members to know something about these cases. We therefore contend that the statistical risk analysis in Appendix 1 is based on false data and is not the same milk we wish our members to sell to their customers.

We would also like to add some balance to the “Problem”.

Throughout the discussion document and its supporting documents, assertions are made that pasteurisation of milk turns it into a perfectly safe product to drink. In the following paragraphs we wish to point out that just like with all foods, pasteurised milk can cause illness and even deaths occasionally.

In presenting this data, we note that we cannot find data for pasteurized dairy illness in NZ. Is this data not recorded?

CDC data is often referred to as a source of information for Raw Milk illness, but what is always overlooked is their data on Pasteurised Dairy illnesses.
http://www.realrawmilkfacts.com/PDFs/pasteurized-dairy-outbreak-table.pdf
These tables were compiled by the Real Raw Milk Facts working group through searches of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) online foodborne disease outbreak database (1998-2010). Because the CDC database has about a two-year lag period, preliminary data was gathered from government and dairy industry press releases, reports, and newsletters to document recent outbreaks (2011-present). Information on farm type and size was taken from the implicated dairy’s website, state reports, and articles when available.

SUMMARY

31 total outbreaks
 9 fluid milk
 21 cheese: 17 non-Mexican style; 4 Mexican style queso fresco
1 powdered milk
 2,840 total illnesses, 10 deaths
 2,200 fluid milk-related illnesses (3 deaths)
604 cheese-related illnesses: 573 non-Mexican style (5 deaths), 31 Mexican style queso fresco (1 death)
36 powdered milk-related illnesses

It should be noted that there have been no deaths associated with Raw Drinking milk since CDC records began in 1972.

Now looking at a recent study shows us certain Pasteurisation techniques can have negative impacts by increasing listeria growth post pasteurisation even under refrigeration. It predicts an increase from the existing average of 18 deaths per year, up to 670 deaths per year from Listeria in processed milk.

Responding to Bioterror Concerns by Increasing MilkPasteurization Temperature Would Increase Estimated AnnualDeaths from Listeriosis
Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 77, No. 5, 2014, Pages 696–705

The results of this study indicate that increasing thepasteurization temperature of fluid milk could increase thesubsequent outgrowth L. monocytogenes in milk contaminatedwith this pathogen postpasteurization. These changesto the potential for outgrowth have been calculated toincrease the risk of death from listeriosis due to consumptionof pasteurized fluid milk by approximately 40-fold.

Such an increase would have an appreciable public healthimpact if all milk in the United States were processedaccording to the increased pasteurization temperature basedon the fact that fluid milk is estimated to be responsible forapproximately 18 listeriosis deaths per year in the UnitedStates. In reality, the observed increase in mortality wouldprobably be less, because standard pasteurization likelyoccurs at temperatures above 72uC (about 75 to 76uC) andbecause the increased pasteurization temperature may beimplemented in only part of the milk supply.
These findings indicate that increasing the severity of heattreatments alters the growth kinetics of L. monocytogenesand spoilage bacteria resulting in faster overall growthduring refrigerated storage. Future work is needed todetermine the exact biochemical changes in the milk (e.g.,protein denaturation,includingenzyme inactivation (20))responsible for the increased growth of bacteria in milkpasteurized at higher temperatures.

This is of concern when you read the following research from Australia showing variations in pasteurisation temperatures.
SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION OFPASTEURISATION FOR PATHOGENREDUCTION IN MILK AND MILKPRODUCTS
Dr Harley Juffs andAssociate Professor Hilton Deeth – FSANZ 2007

Beyond that, however, temperatures rangedfrom 72-86o C and times from 15-50 seconds, with many different combinations within thoseranges. As with batch pasteurisation, type of product was again a major influence on theheating regime used, with the time and temperatures reported generally being within theexpected range for the type of product.
Of particular note is that HTST treatment of milk for liquid milk products, at least by most ofthe large processors and some of the smaller ones, was mostly in the range 74-78o C for 15-30seconds. This reflects a recommendation by the peak Australian dairy industry organisationin 2000 that the times and temperatures for HTST pasteurisation of milk for the liquid milktrade be increased as a precaution against the presence in the raw milk of any M.paratuberculosis organisms that might be resistant to minimum pasteurisation treatment of72o C for 15 seconds.

And finally in New Zealand there are 6 recalls of Pasteurised Dairy products listed on the Government Food Smart website thus far in 2014, showing that problems can and do occur,  exposing the public to some risk until all the foods in question are retrieved.
Klondyke Fresh brand Blue, Light ,Trim Milk and fresh Cream products 13 March 2014
Whitestone Cheese Ltd brand ‘Windsor Blue’ retail ready and wholesale cheese products 6 March 2014
Kiwi and Mel-O-Rich brand Ice-cream & Frozen Desserts 19 February 2014
Kiwi, Mel-O-Rich and Much Moore brand Ice-cream & Frozen Desserts 10 February 2014
Anchor and Pams Fresh Cream 300ml and 500ml 14 January 2014
Deep South Ice cream 10 January 2014

Our point here is, that while pasteurisation is a useful tool, it is not as fool proof as is often stated. We firmly believe that Raw Milk produced following sound guidelines can and is being produced at least as safely as pasteurised milk currently is.

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 The Objectives

Question 2

The Association contends that the re-defined raw milk will require two separate approaches to these objectives one for contaminated raw milk (Factory milk) and one for de- contaminated raw milk (Drinking milk).
The first point “reduced illness………..”. Will require separate effort for both types of raw milk.
The second point “maintain existing access………….”. Would require significant restrictions for off farm consumer access to this contaminated raw milk (Factory milk) as it is the most dangerous for urban people who have had minimal exposure to these extreme levels of bacteria and pathogens.

Whereas de-contaminated raw milk(Drinking milk) hygienically produced and backed up with sufficient testing should, with a consistent high milk quality standard, be suitable for urban consumers.
The third point “ ensure consumers receive accurate………”. The warning and information given to consumers would have to be streamed differently for each milk type. It would be important to use words or rules carefully when describing the risks of contaminated raw milk (Factory milk) as the risk of affecting export product reputations is real.
The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh  points are  again requiring two separate streams of development to deal separately with contaminated raw milk (Factory milk) and de-contaminated raw milk (Drinking milk).
The eighth objective is to encourage the de-contaminated raw milk (Drinking milk) to aim for the highest possible milk quality and to encourage full use of milk test results to raise the milk standard of all participants. Some farmers may not be able to participate in raw milk sales if their milk test results are not good enough. There should also be a robust policing function included in the rules pertaining to raw milk produced for sale for human consumption.
The Association is supportive of MPI to allow for the production of a high quality RawDrinking Milk product that is safe, tested and supervised.

 

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Background

For clarity of the background, the Association would like to Refer MPI back to top of this submission in clause 3. In clause 6 they are for the most part referring to about Raw Factory Milk, not Raw Drinking Milk

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Current situation

The Association does not currently keep any information about sales by it’s members. As mentioned in the document we are aware of many more producers who are not current members of the Association, so it is very hard to calculate consumption, but we feel 5 % is a reasonable estimate. While it is a small concern, the Association members take the attitude that we need to start somewhere if we are to educate everyone about the production of safe Raw Drinking Milk.

Outbreaks of illness in New Zealand

As the Report states, the association of raw milk in these “reported” incidents is very low. If you then take the Raw Factory Milk out of the equation, the “reported” incidents are extremely low. As stated elswhere in this submission, if any of the very small number of incidents came from a Raw Drinking Milk farm, then our members believe we would know about them, but we don’t.
We would also like to comment on the state of “Official” reporting of Raw milk illnesses. MPI and Health authorities are often quoting illnesses, but very few of them are in any official reports. We question the motives and even the legality of this as it simply amplifies the “legend” about the severity of raw milk illness without justification.
We want to see an improvement in the reporting processes, and the inclusion of raw Factory Milk and raw Drinking Milk along with Pasteurized dairy products.

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Assessment of evidence

Risk assessment

Risks

As we stated in clause 3, the risk assessment is overstated because the calculations are based on data from milk intended for processing, not consumption. We also wish to point out that there is no practice that “guarantees” any food to be free of pathogens, therefore the claim made in 8.1.1 paragraph 3 is invalid. We present further below evidence that milk intended for fresh consumption can be produced in as safe a manor as any other fresh food.

Effects of pasteurization on raw milk

Conclusions that small quantities of missing components and small percentage changes in milk by pasteurisation have very little effect on it, are not consistent with knowledge that small quantities of microbes, good or bad, can have a major effect on milk. The conclusions also fail to acknowledge the combined or cumulative effect of all these components damaged by pasteurisation. Science now recognizes the “cocktail” effect of chemicals, why should the components of Raw Milk be any different.
If we step aside from studies directly comparing Raw milk with Cooked milk, we find numerous studies looking at the effects of heat treatments on whey for processing. These studies describe in detail the various effects on the proteins and how they in-turn effect manufacturing. Manufacturers use this knowledge to design their products. These effects may help explain why and how a lot of people have trouble digesting pasteurised milk. Here are a few examples
MILK PROCESSING AND QUALITY MANAGEMENT. Edited by A.Y Tamime
Heat induced denaturation of whey proteins in milk affects many processing characteristics of milk, as described in more detail in Section 2.6
HEAT-INDUCED WHEY PROTEIN REACTIONS IN MILK.
Kinetics of Denaturation and Aggregation as related to Milk Powder manufacture.
Thesis by David James Oldfield, Massey University 1996.
8.4 Possible Industry Applications
Heat-induced reactions of milk proteins during processing determine, to a large extent, the functional attributes in many milk products. Although extensive research has been carried out on milk protein reactions in a number of heated systems (e.g. milk, whey), relatively little is known about the effect these changes have on functional properties.
Now we take a look at pasteurisation of Human Breast Milk
EFFECTS OF PASTEURISATION AND HIGH-PRESSURE PROCESSING ON VITAMIN C, TOCOPHEROLS AND FATTY ACIDS IN MATURE HUMAN MILK
Carolina Moltó-Puigmartía, b, Marc Permanyerc, Ana Isabel Castellotea, b, M. Carmen López-Sabatera, b

Abstract

Holder pasteurisation has traditionally been used in human milk banks to inactivate the pathogenic microorganisms and part of the commensal flora that are potentially present in milk from donors. However, this process results in variable loss of nutrients. In the search for an alternative to pasteurisation, we assessed the ability of high-pressure processing (HPP) to maintain the fatty acid, vitamin C and vitamin E contents of human milk and compared this process with Holder pasteurisation. Fatty acid proportions in milk, as well as levels of delta-, gamma-, and alpha-tocopherols did not vary with any of the treatments. Total vitamin C and ascorbic acid levels were maintained after HPP. However, after pasteurisation, total vitamin C and ascorbic acid were about 20% and 16% lower, respectively, than in untreated samples. These results suggest that HPP merits further investigation as a potential alternative to Holder pasteurisation for treating donor human milk.

RETENTION OF THE IMMUNOLOGICAL PROTEINS OF PASTEURIZED HUMAN MILK IN RELATION TO PASTEURIZER DESIGN AND PRACTICE

Charles Czank1, Danielle K Prime1, Ben Hartmann2, Karen Simmer3and Peter E Hartmann1
Inevitably, the mechanism of thermal inactivation of bacteria during pasteurization also results in considerable loss of beneficial proteins present in human milk. This can be attributed to the “broad action” of heat that disrupts cell membranes and proteins through thermally induced denaturation (7). Typically, Holder Pasteurization can reduce the function of the immunoprotective proteins, such as secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), lactoferrin, and lysozyme, as much as 80%
PASTEURIZATION OF MOTHERS OWN MILK REDUCES FAT ABSORPTION AND GROWTH IN PRETERM INFANTS.
Y Andersson, K Savman, L Blackberg, O Hemell. – Sweden 2007

Results; We found, on average, 17% higher fat absorption with raw milk as compared to pasteurized milk. Infants gained more weight and linear growth as assessed as knee-heel length was greater during the week they were fed raw milk as compared to the week they were fed pasteurized milk.

We have presented just a few examples of different studies showing that there may be some truth to the claims by many people that pasteurised milk has a negative effect on their lives. These examples look at milk from different perspectives, showing that science has many varied opinions about effects of pasteurization on milk. Some of these examples may help explain why for some people Raw Milk benefits their lives while pasteurized milk destroys their lives.

Besides the pure scientific approach to the question of Raw Milk benefits, we encourage regulators to take more notice of the personal accounts recounting life changing effects. When the number of accounts relayed reach as high as they are, they should not be dismissed as fantasy. Numerous people’s lives have changed dramatically after consuming Raw Milk and that information needs to be taken into account throughout the decision making process.

The information presented in Appendix 1 is largely based on milk produced for further processing. The practices used to produce this milk are hugely different from those that either are already, or should be employed to produce Raw Drinking Milk. We agree that most of the milk sampled in this risk assessment is not suitable for consumption without further processing.

Here we will present some further information demonstrating that Raw Milk can be produced to a level of acceptable risk that is comparable to most other foods.

MANAGING FOR MILK QUALITY

http://milkquality.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/managing-for-milk-quality_english.pdf

Essential Aspects of the Milking Routine
Effective implementation of a milking routine that includes forestripping, predipping, adequate
drying and effective post-milking teat disinfection should be the goal of all dairy farms.

Effective Predipping. Methods of premilking teat preparation have been extensively studied
(Galton et al., 1982, Galton, et al., 1984, Galton et al., 1986, Pankey, 1989, Ruegg and Dohoo,
1997). There is no question that the most effective method to disinfect teats is to predip using an
approved disinfectant. The use of pre-dipping using iodine has been demonstrated to reduce
standard plate counts and coliform counts in raw milk by 5 and 6 fold, respectively as compared
to other methods of premilking udder preparation (Figure 2; Galton, et al., 1986).

Here we have 12 years of results from Organic Pastures Dairy Raw Milk Sales from their 300 cow herd using good herd management and hygienic milking procedures.
http://www.organicpastures.com/pdfs/Bacteria%20Counts_6_1_14.pdf
Internal Testing Source: Sierra Dairy Laboratories

 

SPC	Coliforms
Sample Count	681	122
Std. Deviation	3,524	4
Cumulative Average	2,420	3
YTD 2014 Avg	488	2
2013 Avg	1,127	4
2012 Avg	1,015	5
2011 Avg	3,706	not consistantly tested
2010 Avg	4,171	not consistantly tested
2009 Avg	3,425	not consistantly tested
2008 Avg	4,003	not consistantly tested
2007 Avg	3,426	not consistantly tested
2006 Avg	4,161	not consistantly tested
2005 Avg	5,068	not consistantly tested
2004 Avg	1,926	not consistantly tested
2003 Avg	1,089	not consistantly tested
2002 Avg	1,344	not consistantly tested

For more American examples, take a look at the results on the websites of other Listed Farmers here http://rawmilkinstitute.net/listed-farmers/

NZ Raw MILK results to come

And a portion of Expert witness testimony by Dr Ron Hull (Australia) to a California court. He is a world consultant on Dairy Microbiology.
http://www.realmilk.com/wp-content/uploads/2000/01/expert-testimony-0508.pdf
Q. You disagree why?

A. Because we know where pathogens come from in the dairy industry. In the case of shedding cows, we know why they shed pathogens, and we have procedures to eliminate those pathogens from the gastrointestinal tract of those animals, and that’s been commercial practice now since – in the poultry industry at least since 1970.

We’re talking 38 years that’s been knowledge, and it’s now practiced in other agricultural industries. So we can be assured that our animals are not shedding pathogens. So we can be very specific in our control measures for controlling pathogens in the dairy herd and   in the milking environment.

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Potential options considered but not proceeded with:

Prohibition

We agree that prohibition will not work. Canada is a perfect example that it doesn’t work. Despite the risk of huge fines, thousands of desperate consumers convince farmers to supply them with milk.

Status quo

This is not an option either

Non regulatory control measures

This is also not a good option

Sale at retail outlets

We don’t want to see a retail option. Direct from the farm to consumers is the best option.

Sales at farmers markets

Some farmers markets may work, but overall they are not a viable option at this stage. They may be an option in the future once systems are in place and have settled down. This option does work in parts of America, and it is still only for pre-ordered collection, NOT sales.

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Options under consideration

Option 1:

The Association acknowledges the need to draw a line in the sand between regulated control of food products and small scale operations. And it doesn’t matter where that line is drawn, people immediately either side will be disadvantaged.

Therefore we are pointing out that we have members who will be affected by just missing out on option 1, and so ask for some understanding and tolerance as we assist these producers to adjust to any new requirements.

Option 2:

The Association wishes to point out that the development from Option 1 over to Option 2 , 3 or 4 may be a big capital step for some as customer demand grows, and therefore some understanding and communication may be needed in this area as well.

Option 3:

Advantages

The Association disagrees with the assertion that “the current demand by some consumers to buy raw milk in places other than the farm would be met”. Our farmers that currently deliver are clear that they would not be able to support home delivery as it would not be economically viable. Therefore the demand by consumer to buy raw milk from places other than the farm would not be met. The regulations would fail to meet the objective of maintaining existing access to raw milk.

The Association disagrees with the assertion that “the additional requirements imposed on home deliveries would help manage risks to consumers…”. It would be very difficult if not impossible to monitor compliance with the refrigeration requirement. This may mean that milk may not remain at under 6 degrees Celsius and therefore increase the risk to the consumer.
We agree with the other advantages stated under this section.

Disadvantages

The Association disagrees with the assertion that “despite the proposed hygiene and safety controls for home deliveries … safe food” for the following reasons.

The science that the Ministry is relying on are small sample sizes. The Ministry is also demonstrating correlations which may not be statistically significant, and correlations are not demonstrations of causation in terms of a higher risk of adverse health consequences if a larger amount of raw milk is available.

If the milk presented for sale is not the milk produced for further processing (Factory Milk), then increased sales should not a risk factor.

The Association agrees with the assertion that option 3 is not consistent with the way the Ministry regulates the sale of other raw foods that potentially contain pathogens.

Other comments on Option 3

If option 3 was implemented and used the Association is concerned that milk delivered may not be secure, allowing it either to be tampered with or stolen.

Question 23

The Association supports the addition of Option 4 as detailed below.

Option 4: sales from farm as for option 2, plus delivery to a common pick up point

Option 4 extends option 2 by allowing dairy farmers selling 40 litres or more of raw milk per day to deliver raw milk directly to a common pick up point, provided the consumer has:

• pre-ordered the milk,
• pre-paid,
• has been informed of the health risks prior to the delivery, has been informed of how to best look after the milk.

Additional requirements for delivery to a common pick up point would be imposed in the RCS to make sure that the milk is packaged, transported, delivered and refrigerated (post delivery) to a high standard

Advantages

This option would reduce the likelihood of foodborne illness compared to the current situation because of the increased compliance requirements and therefore help protect New Zealand’s reputation as a supplier of safe food while extending current consumer access to raw milk.

This option would place stringent requirements on raw milk production in the same way that stringent requirements are placed on other raw foods that potentially contain pathogens, to reduce the risk of illness.

The current demand by some consumers to buy raw milk in places other than from the farm would be met.
Pre-ordering raw milk for deliveries would provide an easy way for these dairy farmers to keep records of customers’ names, addresses, and the volume and frequency of milk ordered. In the event of a foodborne outbreak this would make a product recall simple and effective. This may help reduce the breadth of a foodborne outbreak, if it were to occur.

Delivered milk would be kept refrigerated till point of pick up. This would ensure that the quality of milk would be kept safe for the consumer reducing the likelihood of outbreak of illnesses associated with raw milk.

The developing culture of raw milk excellence by all raw milk producers would decrease the likelihood of outbreak of illnesses associated with raw milk. (Please read the answer to Question 25 below)

Compliance monitoring would be simple and enforceable as it is likely that there would be no sales beyond those intended by the regulations and monitoring of refrigeration standards would be simple as the number of them would be few.

The  requirement to provide information on the risk and safety of raw milk  would ensure that the consumer has made a well informed decision. It would also prevent misinformation from being circulated and help ensure full information on health risks was being provided to consumers.

The requirement to pre order and pre pay would prevent; opportunistic purchases,
Because milk is pre-paid directly to the farmer it mitigates the risk of milk being on-sold.

The additional requirements imposed on delivery to a common pick up point would help manage risks to consumers and, as for other options, dairy farmers who do not consistently meet the requirements would have to close that part of their business.

Consumers of raw milk would be able to purchase the quantity of milk they require, including amounts needed to make raw milk cheeses and would be assured that safety measures to reduce the risk of foodborne illness have been followed and checked. They would also be informed about health risks through additional labelling provisions.

There may potentially be a small positive environmental impact due to fewer consumers driving to farms

Disadvantages

This option is not consistent with the way we regulate the sale of other raw foods that potentially contain pathogens.

Economic costs

As deliveries would be a new option for dairy farmers, those who opted to deliver to a common pick up point would face initial set up costs, such as the purchase of a refrigerated truck and assessments to ensure the relevant transportation, distribution, and deliveries were being followed.
There would be fewer costs to consumers who do not need to go to farms.

Government would face some additional costs to those outlined under option 2, such as the costs associated with monitoring compliance to ensure that raw milk:

• is not sold if it was not pre ordered and pre paid before the farmer left the farm
• is not delivered to or by a third party
• is kept at required temperature during transportation to the common pick up point
• is kept at required temperature at common pick up point.

Because farmers would be responsible for educating the consumer about minimising the foodborne risk of raw milk there would be no cost to the government as under option 3.

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Detail on proposed requirements under the options

Measures applying to all …

Keeping a list of Customers
For pre-ordered Farm Sales and Delivered sales, having a full list of customers is straight forward.
However for vending machines and purpose built self-fill vats, keeping a complete list is impossible. The proposed requirements are unworkable for those producers selling milk via these machines.

Some vending machines have cards or keys (non eft-pos) that customers can use to purchase their milk but in general the capability of both the cards/keys and the card/key readers on the machines does not provide the ability to track sales in this manner. Further some vending machines are cash only or the majority of customers using the machine pay by cash. Some vending machines are open 24/7.

For self-fill operations it is also unworkable because they are also un-manned stations.
The association agrees traceability is an important issue and we can agree to implement what most of these farms already do. These farms maintain on a best endeavours basis, a database with customer names and contact details (minimum email & phone contact). This gathers about 95% of their customers because they want to communicate with them regularly anyway, and in the event of a farmer having to cease selling due to a negative test all customers are contacted by phone with follow up by email and also via Facebook. Customers will be advised that milk sold as at a specific date is not fit to consume unless heated to min. 72C for 1 minute.

The Association believes this is a workable solution that will adequately manage the requirements for traceability, which far exceeds any other food type.

Consistency of treatment with other raw food

The Food Act 2014 allows for sale of horticultural produce direct to consumer from the producer with exemption from food control or the National programme. Overseas outbreaks of food borne illness has occurred from contaminated horticultural produce.

Most other raw foods fall under the national programme level 1 and they all have minimal processing.
Consider raw meat, fish, seafood, honey and nuts and seeds.

These foods all have some regulations around their preparation for sale and for butchering and they can result in illness if there are any pathogens present.  These can be purchased in shops and the buyer is not informed of the risks or the safety storage of the food at point of sale.

None of these foods are tracked to the final consumer, names and addresses are not captured. Labelling on the pack do not have warnings of the danger or risks. The consumer has no knowledge of any test results or the original supplier farm for these foods.  These foods could be on sold and this is not monitored.

RMPANZ submit that Raw Drinking Milk should be treated in a similar manner to these other raw foods if it comes from approved suppliers.

Openness and Transparency

RMPANZ would like to work with Openness and transparency in their dealings with consumers and with MPI.
To this end we intend to provide the results of the tests in an understandable way to consumers educated to know what the results mean for the product. Explanation needs to be made of the minimum standard and our Top standards, as well as the criteria for discard or recall.

Right to choose

For the continued availability of raw milk to the consumers RMPANZ considers that a well informed and educated consumer has the right to choose what food they provide for their family when being kept up to date with evaluation of the product.

Question 25

No, the Raw Milk Producers Association believes the standard of milk produced for human consumption should significantly better than factory supply milk.
A Fonterra official recently quoted at the milk quality conference in Hamilton 17 June 2014 that their milk was the highest quality processing milk in the world. Their average APC was 5000.

The association is setting the APC targets at 0 to 500 APC as the top grade, 500 to 2000 APC as the next grade. It will set 1000 APC as the red flag level to begin finding out what is going wrong with milk quality and >15000 APC as the Level where the milk is unsuitable for human consumption without pasteurisation.

Question 26