Police are investigating claims a 3500-litre batch
of fresh milk was deliberately sabotaged with penicillin on a Buller
dairy farm.
The tube of penicillin, normally used to treat cows,
was allegedly dropped into the milk at an Inangahua dairy farm, 47
kilometres southwest of Westport, on February 10, Constable Graham
Kimber of Reefton police told NZ Newswire.
The antibiotic's presence was picked up by testing at the Westland Milk Products factory in Hokitika.
The farmer had laid a complaint as he believed someone had come on to the property and deliberately contaminated the milk.
There were no suspects at this stage, Const Kimber said.
"It's a hard thing to prove unless you have seen it happen."
The
farmer's raw milk was valued at about $2000, but the dairy farmer could
be liable for much more as it was picked up by a tanker collecting milk
from other dairy farms and the entire 12,000-litre load, worth nearly
$8000, was contaminated and had to be dumped.
Westland Milk chief executive Rod Quin confirmed the farmer was liable for the cost of the tanker's load.
Penicillin in milk did not pose a high risk for the majority of the population, but some people could be allergic to it.
It was an "isolated incident" and picked up by tests that are carried out on every tanker, he said.
Federated Farmers West Coast president Katie Milne told the Greymouth Star she was shocked by the incident.
"It's a disgusting thing to do and I hope the culprit is caught and the police come down hard on whoever did it."
In
2005, an Israeli farmworker was charged with contaminating 40,000
litres of milk on a Mid Canterbury dairy farm after antibiotics were
found in a milk sample.
It was the first time such a charge -
which carries a penalty of up to 10 years' jail - had been laid, but it
was later withdrawn because of a lack of evidence.
NZN