A milk processing factory in Reporoa controlled by New Zealand dairy behemoth Fonterra was briefly closed last week after a product test gave a positive Listeria test.

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Fonterra spokeswoman Jody Stewart told the Waikato Times that the affected milk has been removed from the factory, and further tests have discovered no Listeria.


She stressed to just-food.com that the relevant external regulatory agency was notified, while the batch concerned and batches either side were isolated and a traceback process was initiated.


The factory was closed for 25 hours as a further precaution, added Stewart. Some 1200 samples were tested, all of which proved negative. Monday 2 September saw the FDA 5-day test also return negative.


The product remains on hold while findings are summarised and submitted to an external agency to approve release of the product.  This is standard practice and is designed to be cautious, explained Stewart.

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The factory is continuing to run as normal.

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