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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-05-16 Daily Xml
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RAW MILK

The Hon. M. PARNELL (14:42): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries questions on the issue of raw milk.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M. PARNELL: I have been advised that on Tuesday this week (14 May), officers from Biosecurity SA, the Dairy Authority of South Australia and a police officer entered the property of Mark and Helen Tyler of Moo View Dairy in Willunga Hill to confiscate supplies of raw milk. Like other members, I have been contacted by the owners of one of the cows in question, who was extremely upset at the actions of the authorities. These owners argue that, while it is illegal to sell raw milk to the public, as far as they are aware it is not illegal to drink raw milk from their own cow. One person who has made contact with me this morning has written:

I am a member of a 'Cow-Share' program which allows me to have access to unpasteurised milk. This milk is very safe and incredibly nutritious. Beside the difference in species, it is no different to drinking breast milk, which we do not pasteurise prior to feeding it to our babies.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. M. PARNELL: I'm quoting a constituent letter. I continue the quote:

I have purchased my shares, and I pay the dairy a fortnightly fee for board (costs of milking, etc.) and delivery each week. I am an educated person, a physiotherapist, and I am aware of the pitfalls of drinking pasteurised milk and the incredible health benefits of drinking raw milk, including the effect that it has on gut flora and as such allergies. I also accept that there is a minimal element of risk involved in drinking raw milk, which is minimised by ensuring the cows are healthy and that the process of milking them is hygienic.

Another person has written to me again this morning:

As a family of four and living on a suburban block, we are unable to house, care for and maintain our cow and employ the valued services of the Tylers at Moo View Dairy to do so on our behalf. It is upsetting to hear that Mark and Helen Tyler have been subjected to such unprovoked and disrespectful treatment. We believe that the 'authorities' have misunderstood the service provided by Tylers at Moo View Dairy in that we as Shareholders do not purchase raw milk but employ the Tylers to house, care for and maintain our cow.

All of these constituents believe that what has happened is an appalling obstruction of their freedoms. My questions to the minister are:

1. Why have officers from Biosecurity, the Dairy Authority and a police officer confiscated milk from Mark and Helen Tyler without permission from any of the cows' owners and served a compliance order to prevent shareholders from accessing any more milk from their own cows?

2. Since when is it illegal to drink raw milk? Does this mean that someone is breaking the law if they squirt milk directly from their own cow into their mouth?

3. What do you intend to do on behalf of Mark and Helen Tyler and the shareholders who own the cows in question?

4. How does this action promote South Australia's reputation as a state that promotes food culture and a closer relationship between farmers and city dwellers?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:45): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. A compliance action, I have been advised, has been issued against Moo View Dairy and it is subject to legal proceedings. Therefore, it would be inappropriate for me to comment specifically about that particular business. However, what I can do is talk more generally about our policy for pasteurisation of milk and why that is so important.

Before going on to that, I understand formal processes have commenced and if any party believes that there has been improper behaviour or any improper actions taken in any part of that process, there are processes for complaint, and I would be advising those people to pursue those complaints formally if they believe something improper has occurred.

I have been advised of this recent case involving a compliance action with regard to a South Australian dairy supplying potentially raw cow's milk to the public. As I said, I am unable to provide specific information about that business, but what I can say is from 2008 to 2012 the national food standard authority, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), conducted extensive public consultation on raw milk and milk products, which included a thorough scientific assessment on the public health risk. All these documents are publicly available on the FSANZ website, so I would urge honourable members to make themselves familiar with those. A final report of FSANZ in May 2012 concluded that raw drinking milk presents too high a risk to consider any permission in the National Food Standards Code. FSANZ said:

For raw drinking milk, even extremely good hygiene procedures won't ensure dangerous pathogens aren't present. Complications from bacteria that can contaminate these products can be extremely severe, such as haemolytic uraemic syndrome or HUS—

and we are familiar with that here in South Australia—

which can result in renal failure and death in otherwise healthy people.

FSANZ also said:

People with increased vulnerability to diseases caused by these bacteria include young children, elderly people, people with compromised immune systems and pregnant women and their foetuses.

South Australia, along with every other state, prohibits the sale of raw cow's milk—unpasteurised milk.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: It is quite absurd for the honourable member to say, 'Do we prohibit the squirting of milk into someone's mouth?' Our laws are quite clear. We prohibit the sale of raw cow's milk.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: That is our law and that is what is being investigated at the moment, and we will let those actions proceed and evidence be taken and we will see that due process is applied and we will see what the outcome is, but that is what our law is. Raw cow's milk has a higher risk of contaminating pathogens that can cause illness and cannot be treated to render it safe for consumption, unlike pasteurised milk. Raw cow's milk can contain a wide variety of organisms that could cause illness, and those most at risk are vulnerable in our community—children, in particular.

Protection of consumers' rights is important; however, it is overridden where the health risk to the community is considered sufficient to modify those rights. With raw cow's milk, the key consideration is that there is an alternative, safer product available which is pasteurised milk and the more vulnerable individuals in the community may not be aware of the increased risk if they access that raw product.

The government supports value-adding to primary products, including dairy products, and it has provided extensive support to groups such as artisan cheesemakers and specialist milk producers. It has supported new marketing opportunities such as regional farmers' markets. However, the government does not support enterprises that try to make money by breaking the law and putting consumers' health at risk; we come down on that very hard. I think every member in this chamber would support the government in that and no doubt would support the same thing, and that is we do not support breaking the law by putting consumers' health at risk. Many older people—

The Hon. K.L. Vincent interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: What are you so afraid of? What are they so afraid of as to let a process—

The PRESIDENT: Minister, you will ignore the interjections and stick to the answer.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Let a proper process be undertaken and let an investigation ensue. What are they so afraid of? If there is nothing wrong, then that is what will be found. Obviously there is a different view about that and we have a responsibility if we believe or are concerned that the law has been broken.

The Hon. A. Bressington interjecting:

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: If we are concerned that the law has been broken, then we have a responsibility to investigate that. They have nothing to be afraid of, and I am quite alarmed. What is the Hon. Ann Bressington so afraid of? If there is no wrongdoing and no law, why is she so frantic? Why do we see this level of anxiety if she has nothing to be concerned about?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Are you going to finish the answer, minister?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I will.

The PRESIDENT: Yes, and ignore the interjections.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I will, thank you for your advice, Mr President. There have been disease outbreaks in Australia and overseas, the most recent example being one in Alaska where over 20 people who drank raw milk sourced through a cow share scheme became seriously ill. In New Zealand a disease outbreak associated with raw milk consumption occurred in May and June in 2011 and involved eight people. An example of a particular concern involving raw milk was last year when a toddler and two young teens from Portland, Oregon in the US were hospitalised with E. coli poisoning, two with kidney failure (the haemolytic uraemic syndrome that I have referred to) for drinking raw milk.

As I said, even extremely good hygiene procedures will not ensure that these dangerous pathogens are not passed on. We will let due process be done and the investigations completed and, as I have said to the honourable members, I have assured them that if there clearly has been no wrongdoing, then no-one needs to be concerned. That is what will be determined.

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