A Sydney-based alternative milk company, Inside Out Nutritious Goods, has been fined almost $200,000 after a customer was left critically ill with botulism from drinking its almond milk.
The New South Wales Supreme Court found the company guilty of breaching food safety laws after it failed to properly label refrigeration instructions on its Unsweetened Almond Milk bottles.
The case arose after customer Karyn McGrigor purchased 10 bottles of the milk from Woolworths and stored them in her cupboard, following the printed advice that said: "Once opened, keep refrigerated and consume within five days."
However, the almond milk required constant refrigeration below five degrees Celsius, a fact not disclosed on the packaging.
Ms McGrigor’s partner, Mr Mace, fell severely ill after consuming the milk and was later diagnosed with botulism.
He spent 147 days in intensive care and a total of 188 days in hospital between January and July 2023.
Health authorities said the case was extremely rare, revealing that Australia had recorded just three adult cases of botulism between 1992 and 2019.
The illness is caused by a nerve toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria and can lead to paralysis, respiratory failure, and death in severe cases.
Following the incident, NSW Health issued a statewide recall of Inside Out’s almond and oat milk products in February 2023, warning consumers not to drink them and to return or dispose of affected items.
Inside Out Nutritious Goods told the court that the labelling error was unintentional.
Justice Anthony Payne accepted it was an "honest mistake" but said the error carried a serious risk to public health.
"The incorrect label content was originally prepared for a shelf-stable product and was inadvertently copied across to the new packaging. The error was not detected at the proofreading stage," Justice Payne said.
He ordered the company to pay a $120,000 fine and an additional $75,000 to cover the NSW Food Authority’s legal costs.
Justice Payne said the penalty should serve as a warning to other food producers.
"The penalty must be large enough to deter similar offending. Protection of the public demands no less," he said.
READ ALSO: UK to Ban Pornography Depicting Strangulation
Comments
Post a Comment