Dairygold farmers are facing increased testing and monitoring for chlorine in milk on the back of demands from infant formula giant Danone.

Farmers at an ICMSA meeting in Mallow on 23 April were told that a monitoring programme is being rolled out by Dairygold, with advisers being sent to visit each farm.

Farmers were warned to check the chlorine levels in their detergents and be wary of chlorine levels if water was coming from a main supply.

“This is coming from the customer [Danone]. It’s not a stick to beat farmers with from Dairygold,” milk quality adviser Maeve O’Connor told the meeting.

No one wants to lose the Danone contract

For infant formula, raw milk must contain less than 0.00375 mg/kg of chlorate. Dairygold farmers who consistently fail tests will be ordered to use chlorine-free products.

Farmers were concerned that a penalty could be introduced but were told that would be a matter for the board.

“No one wants to lose the Danone contract,” O’Connor said, adding that Danone typically took about 15% of Dairygold’s milk supply every year.

Standards

ICMSA president Pat McCormack acknowledged that international companies were demanding higher standards but said that “dairy farmers should be on 54c/l to keep in line with standards and inflation over the last 30 years.”