by SUSAN MANN
Officials at Saputo Inc. are continuing to investigate how cleaning solution ended up in its Neilson Trutaste 2% Microfiltered Partly Skimmed Milk, says a company spokesperson.
“Obviously it’s the same cleaning solution that is used to clean the plant” but company officials don’t yet know how it got into the milk, says Sandy Vassiadis, corporate communications director.
Saputo, Canada’s largest dairy processor and the twelfth largest in the world, is voluntarily recalling the product from the marketplace. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.
Garfield Balsom, CFIA food safety and recall specialist, says the main message in its public alert is to inform consumers of the product and that if they have it they shouldn’t drink it.
The product was sold in four-litre bags bearing the UPC number – 066800 00404 4 and the best before date of Feb. 12. The best before code of 1590 FE12 H7 appears on the bag closure. No other codes were affected.
The product was distributed in Ontario and Aylmer, Quebec. Vassiadis says the milk production of one day was affected but she doesn’t have an exact number. “It’s a minimal amount.”
The CFIA also doesn’t have “an exact idea of the quantity being recalled,” Balsom says.
Vassiadis says consumers can return the product to the store where they bought it for a full refund. So far, Saputo has been able to retrieve all of the milk that remained in affected stores in Ontario and that was sent back to its distribution centres for the investigation.
One person complained about stomachaches after consuming the milk and called Saputo. “We did retrieve the milk,” Vissiadis says.
Balsom says there have been no serious illnesses reported from people drinking milk.
Milk contaminated with the cleaning solution may not look or smell spoiled. But consumption may cause nausea, upset stomach, burning sensations or vomiting.
More information on the voluntarily recall and alert is available on the CFIA’s website. BF
Comments
If this recall had happened to an imported dairy product, the Dairy Farmers of Ontario would have fallen all over themselves to boast about the advantages of "safe" and "pure" domestic dairy products.
Perhaps now that milk has "joined-the-club" of beef with BSE, pork with listeriosis, and water with Walkerton, those people clamoring about the need for 200% tariff barriers to keep us "safe", may think twice before they boast about how safe our own milk really is.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
i found 2 containers of 3>25% neilson truetaste milk bought east of toronto had similar sounding side effects, smelled very bad and was think made by saputo in quebec today and one from acouple days ago. epire dates oct 24 on both. i am going back to store to let them know of the recall from similar products from the same conmpany. thank for the information
Did you read the story?
Apparently a problem in a Saputo processing plant.
How is that a supply management issue?
Who do you blame when your socks don't match?
You have not yet blamed it for your clients' $20 annual charitable giving levels, but I am sure you could somehow!
Supply management supporters have fallen all over themselves for years to boast about the safety of food produced by the supply management system, all the while studiously ignoring the obvious fact that food safety in general, and this problem in particular, have nothing to do with supply management at all.
More to the point, if this plant had been processing imported milk at the time, Canadian farmers would have been completely unable to claim that this food safety related slip-up wouldn't have happened in a supply managed system - thereby completely negating something they continually claim to be a vitally-important reason why supply management should be kept.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
And anti-supply management people seem to forget that legislative protected minimum wages are at the bottom of many businesses leaving this province. Wages are usually the biggest component in the making of any product. Your too busy nickel and diming the parts that don't matter while ignoring the bigger picture. Its too costly to do business in Ontario and getting worse every day.
With all due respect Stephen , you yourself are blind .
Food safety is more than your are willing to admit . With milk it is the fact of having milk not produced with products not allowed for use in this country and the fact that that the milk likely left the farm in a safe state and the problem occurred sometime between the processing plant or the store self .
Sort of just like you bashing ethanol on this site and any where else that you can get some one to listen/print it but never raising the issue at an OFA PAC meeting . Further different times I have been told by people that you proudly say ethanol paid for your Mercedes . My how two faced some people can be !
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