Fonterra have withdrawn milk from supermarket shelves due to a quality issue.
Today a Hawke’s Bay supermarket placed a notice in its window notifying its customers that there was a withdrawal of the Anchor and Value brands of milk with best before dates of February 21 and 24.
When contacted about the issue a spokesperson for Fonterra said the company was contacted by a customer to let us know of a slight flavour difference in their milk.
They said they wanted to make clear that this was not a recall of a product but rather a withdrawal.
According to Food Safety New Zealand a withdrawal, also known as a trade level recall, is the removal of an unsafe food from the distribution chain but does not extend to food sold to the consumer.
Food Safety NZ said this is different from a recall, also known as a consumer level recall, where unsafe food is removed from the distribution chain and extends to food sold to consumers and therefore involves communication with consumers.
The Fonterra spokesperson said the company has undertaken sensory testing and found that a small batch of Value Standard, Anchor Blue and Dairy Dale Standard milk tasted slightly maltier than usual.
“[This is] likely due to a type of feed one of our herds was eating,” they say.
The spokesperson said the milk is completely safe to drink.
“We simply want to make sure our consumers receive the same great tasting milk they are used to, so we are replacing the stock at those stores that sell it,” they said.
“As always, if any consumer isn’t absolutely happy with one of our products we will replace it with a fresh bottle.
“Just bring it in to the store where you purchased it and they will help.”
The spokesperson said stores have already restocked with fresh bottles, so all Value, Anchor and Dairy Dale milk on the shelves is of the same high quality our consumers know and expect.
Source: News Collective
