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Letter to Grill Editor July 2006

21 July 2006

To the Editor

Last month we wrote to reassure your readers that our Domestic Food Review was not designed to wrap the food sector in red tape. This month we’re pleased to advise that the fears you expressed in your July 2006 article Fascist Watch, in which you berate us for over-reacting towards unpasteurised cheese by banning its manufacture and sale in New Zealand, are also unfounded.

Let me reassure you that far from being fascist in our attitude towards unpasteurised cheeses, we at NZFSA enjoy them when we are overseas every bit as much as your readers, and relish the idea of them being made available here.

However, around the world, unpasteurised cheese is responsible for the deaths, via foodborne illness, of quite a few people each year, usually the most vulnerable in the population – the old, the pregnant and those whose resistance is low for some reason.

We know New Zealand consumers would not be happy to see this happening here and that is why our scientists are undertaking extensive research that we are confident will shortly allow New Zealand manufacturers to produce their own raw-milk cheeses safely, without compromising the wonderful flavours of this type of cheese.

New Zealand’s food sector is vital both to New Zealand consumers and our economy and ensuring we maintain its excellent reputation for safe product is paramount. However, we also acknowledge the consumer’s right to choice.

We are working very hard to find out if raw-milk cheeses can be produced within New Zealand which will meet both these outcomes – and allow all New Zealanders to benefit as a result.

Sandra Daly

Director (Communications & Infrastructure)

NZFSA