Epicurean Dairy Limited - known for The Collective brand of dairy products - has been fined nearly $483,000 for repeatedly failing to report positive listeria results, following an investigation by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
MPI says the company – whose products include yoghurt and ‘suckies’ marketed to children - and the company’s former general manager Angus Allan, pleaded guilty to a total of 10 charges of failing to report positive environmental listeria results when they appeared in the Waitakere District Court today.
The company was fined $369,000, and Angus Allan, $54,000. Court costs of $80,000 were also imposed according to MPI.
The company’s former Operations Manager Ilya Pyzhanhov was also convicted and fined $60,000 after pleading guilty earlier this year to five charges of deliberately withholding positive environmental listeria results.
MPI’s Director of Compliance Gary Orr says that from 2012 to 2016, the company deliberately and repeatedly failed to report positive listeria results that were taken from a floor at the company’s factory in Avondale, Auckland. During this period, the company also falsified official related records.
He says a total of 190 positive listeria results went unreported during this time.
“This was serious, systematic and sustained deception – there’s no other way to describe it,” says Mr Orr.
“The company was regularly audited to ensure its manufacturing environment was in accordance with regulatory requirements but it lied about what the true situation was.
“The part of the factory that was producing positive environmental listeria results was an area where the most stringent food safety requirements applied. It was where yoghurt and cheese was being produced for human consumption."
In a statement to 1 NEWS today, Epicurean Dairy Limited said: The factory manager who was responsible for this reporting left the business three years ago.
"They subsequently pleaded guilty and were convicted on mens rea charges (which means convicted of intent) and received a $60,000 fine.
"We have been working closely with MPI long before the misreporting instances and since.
"Together, we have undertaken a frequent testing and auditing programme and have now achieved MPI’s highest level rating possible for our quality systems (Level 5.1)."
No product was affected and there were no consumer health impacts. Since the MPI investigation, the company has replaced the worn factory floor where the listeria was present.
The company continues to operate with no further issues MPI says.
SHARE ME