Mum’s ‘upset’ after milk for sick daughter seized at airport

A Co Tyrone mother, who ordered a special milk product from Australia for her young daughter, said it has been seized by officials at Belfast City Airport and will be destroyed on Monday.
Heather Michael and her daughter RebekahHeather Michael and her daughter Rebekah
Heather Michael and her daughter Rebekah

Heather Michael from Cookstown said eight-year-old Rebekah suffers from a dairy intolerance, so she imports the ‘A2 milk’ from Australia, which is regular cows milk with the A1 protein removed.

‘‘This milk was available for a short time in larger supermarkets and Amazon but the company who make it withdrew it from the UK due to lack of demand,’’ said Mrs Michael.

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Following this decision, she has been ordering the powdered milk directly from the Australian supplier, because it gives her daughter a ‘‘more normal life’’.

‘‘It meant she could enjoy food that would not normally have been possible.’’

Mrs Michael said she has received two shipments of the product to date, one weighing approximately 5kg.

However, a third shipment, weighing 10 kg, arrived at Belfast City Airport on Monday, June 8 at 1am and was immediately seized by Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) inspection officials.

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‘‘DAERA told me it was imported incorrectly and that health certificates, etc, should have accompanied the milk,’’ said Mrs Michael.

‘‘But neither the company in Australia nor myself were aware of these regulations, particularly since previous shipments had not caused any problems. On this occasion I had bought 10kg of the powdered milk, worth £160, to make it more economically viable as it is costly to ship from Australia.

‘‘DAERA explained the problem was that no more than 2kg could be imported without a lot of paperwork, due to EU regulations. I questioned the previous shipments but was told that they had passed through unnoticed.’’

She added: ‘‘It is a crazy situation. My daughter is only eight and is in desperate need of the milk for both her physical and mental wellbeing.

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‘‘I am upset and frustrated that they could not show compassion for a chid.’’

A DAERA spokesperson said: “We can’t comment on individual cases.

‘‘However, imports from third countries, such as Australia, into the European Union are strictly controlled in order to protect both human health and biosecurity of our animal population and also to facilitate trade through preventing the entry of epizootic diseases, for example, but not limited to, African Swine Fever or Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.’’

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