During 2014, MPI undertook a public consultation on options to change the requirements for the sale of raw milk to consumers. Individuals, businesses and organisation with an interest in raw milk were invited to submit comments in response to a discussion paper canvassing future policy options for the sale of raw milk. This documents presents a brief overview of submitters' comments, and MPI's response.

The consumption of watercress infected with enteric pathogens could potentially cause
serious gastrointestinal illness (e.g. Campylobacteriosis) and people gathering watercress
could also be at risk of infection from contact with contaminated surface waters. Excessive
heavy metal contamination of watercress may also cause adverse health effects.

The poultry industry and supermarkets in New Zealand have recently introduced leak-proof packaging for retail sale of whole birds and a proportion of packs of portions. This is intended to eliminate the risk of leaking drip fluid from these products contaminating the retail environment, and provided the products are properly handled by consumers, provides the potential for preventing cross contamination in the home. This study had the aim of providing basic data on the amount of drip retained within this type of packaging, and the numbers of Campylobacter spp. in the liquid.

The success of Tahu a Tao farm stems from collaboration between the farm management, advisers and sharemilkers. Farm investment is undertaken with a long term view and a focus on what's best for the whanau, now and into the future.

The purpose of this risk profile is to critically review information to answer the following risk management question: What is the public health risk from L. monocytogenes in raw milk consumed in New Zealand?

The purpose of the document is to provide a benchmark against which the efficacy of
alternative milk treatment systems can be assessed.

This report is part of a project investigating on-farm risk factors for Campylobacter contamination of poultry flocks in New Zealand. It is intended to contribute to the identification of such factors that offer opportunities for risk management. The preparation of this report will be followed by farm visits during early 2007.

Scientific interpretive summary of report on challenge trials assessing the microbiological safety of raw milk cheeses made in New Zealand.

NZFSA (now MPI) commissioned this report to develop guidelines for conducting challenge trials relevant to manufacturing cheese from raw milk, with the intention of helping determine the safety of raw milk cheeses.

This report defines the baseline of levels of contamination of sulphite-reducing clostridia (SRC) in New Zealand nutritional dairy powders. It also evaluates whether or not routine testing of dairy powders for SRCs in New Zealand, and setting of microbiological criteria, are required for regulatory assurances.

This study provides an understanding of chemical changes in milk during the fermentation process and the effect of these changes on pathogen dynamics in raw and pasteurised milk.

The objective of this work was to identify conditions and physico-chemical parameters during the raw milk cheese making process that may influence growth and enterotoxin production by enterotoxigenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus.

This is a summary NZFSA report on the proposed post mortem examination procedures for the carcasses and viscera of adult sheep slaughtered in New Zealand. It provides an effective set of procedures that will continue to provide an equivalent level of performance for detection and removal of abnormalities of food safety and suitability importance. This set of procedures will also mitigate against any inadvertent cross
contamination with zoonotic pathogens that might result from unnecessary carcass handling.