While RCMP investigators, the Agropur dairy co-operative and a federal safety agency are saying little about the investigation into a massive milk recall from Victoria’s Island Farms facility three weeks ago, a packaging seal has been added to jugged milk.
Ads published in the Times Colonist by Agropur, which owns Island Farms, show a photo of a milk jug with a “safety seal” to be peeled off when the lid is opened, which the company says provides “double the protection.”
“From everyone at Island Farms, thank you for your trust,” the ads state. “We’ll keep working hard to improve ourselves.”
Other brands of jugged milk involved in the voluntary recall included Natrel and Lucerne.
Island Farm’s Dowler Place facility temporarily transferred production of the 19 varieties and sizes of jugged milk under recall to the co-operative’s dairy in Burnaby.
“Never to our knowledge has Agropur experienced this type of situation in B.C.,” said Diep Truong, a communications consultant working for Agropur, in an email to the Times Colonist in late June.
Complaints from consumers in Langford and Duncan were brought to police attention in June, but details of the contaminant and how it got into the milk have not been made public.
At the time of the recall, Canadian Food Inspection Agency said “harmful extraneous material in these particular products poses a risk to consumers,” although no injuries or illnesses were reported.
The agency classified the recall as a “Class 1” hazard, which is defined as high risk.
The Gustavson Brand Trust Index compiled at the University of Victoria’s school of business ranked Agropur as the top trusted dairy in Canada based on responses by 6,560 consumers about nearly 300 brands.
The index evaluates levels of trust and what prompts people to recommend a brand to their friends and family.
