Ministry: Salmonella in Tnuva milk powder poses no health risk

A check carried out on a milk powder production line at Israeli dairy products company Tnuva has found contamination by salmonella, the Ministry of Health has reported.

In the course of the investigation of the salmonella contamination at Strauss Group’s Elite confectionary factory at Nof Hagalil, a bag of Tnuva milk powder at the factory was also found to be suspect. Further checks carried out over the past few days tended to confirm the suspicions, and today, as mentioned, the sample taken from the Tnuva production line was found positive for salmonella.

The Ministry of Health said yesterday that the contamination at the Elite factory was discovered in the liquid chocolate, before the addition of milk powder, so that the contamination in the Tnuva milk powder found at the site was not responsible for the contamination there.

The Ministry of Health says that the Tnuva product is not one sold to the public, but only to factories where further processing is carried out, usually involving heating the product, which prevents bacteria from reproducing, and so there is no danger to public health. Checks of finished products in which the milk powder had been used have so far found the products to be uncontaminated. At present there is evidence of contamination in one batch of milk powder produced on August 9, 2021.

“The Ministry of Health has carried out dozens of checks at different laboratories in order to determine the extent of the contamination. Results of up to date environmental checks at the Tnuva factory have been found to be in order,” the ministry stated. “The Ministry of Health has instructed Tnuva to recall milk powder produced between August 9 and August 25, 2021. The milk powder produced between these dates was sold only to factories and not to institutions. The National Food Service continues to carry out investigations at factories that received batches produced between these dates.

“In addition, the Ministry of Health has instructed institutions that receive milk powder not to use the product as a safety measure until the investigation is complete. The Ministry of Health continues with checks and with the investigation of the event, and will update the public with the findings.”

Tnuva said in a statement: “The milk powder is a raw material for industrial use only, and is not sold in stores and does not reach consumers. All Tnuva’s milk products are in order and safe to use. All Tnuva’s milk products undergo meticulous and strict thermal processes, including pasteurization that destroys germs. We make clear that there is no connection to the quality event at the Strauss chocolate factory.”

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on May 16, 2022.

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