Cheesed-off Timaru mum buys three packs of mozzarella, all mouldy

Mould in the third bag of mozzarella that Claire Curran bought. Photo/Supplied

A Timaru mother is furious after nearly feeding her children mouldy Mainland cheese - then finding more mould after buying new packs of cheese two more times.

Claire Carran said mouldy mozzarella three times in a row wasn't good enough - and was shocked when a Mainland spokesman replied to her message on Facebook saying the company knew about the issue but continued to sell it.

Carran used the pre-grated cheese to make pizzas for her two boys, Hugh, 6 and Rhys, 3.

"One time I had laid it out and was about to put it in the oven and I noticed some of the tendrils were a little bit green. I thought 'Eurgh, yuck! Scrap that one"."

She then bought a second, and finally third pack of pre-grated cheese, and found mould in each.

The final straw came when she opened a fresh pack on Tuesday.

A Fonterra spokesman said the mould was caused by air getting into the packet. Photo / Supplied

"There were two huge chunks of mould, they were bigger than a two-dollar coin.

"I hadn't even opened it. All of the dates were next year, there should have been no problems," Carran said.

She complained to Mainland on Facebook, and was shocked when a page administrator replied saying they knew there had been a problem with cheese going mouldy in its packs.

The comment said the company "[has] had an issue recently with our Mainland Grated Cheeses not lasting very well in their packaging.

"We've taken a good look into what has happened and think we have the problem sorted."

Carran said that wasn't good enough, and declined the vouchers offered as she didn't want to buy more potentially mouldy product if the cheese hadn't been recalled.

Claire Carran said she nearly fed the mouldy cheese to her sons Hugh, 6 and Rhys, 3. Photo / Supplied

Returning the cheese to the supermarket was inconvenient as the mould itself was gross, she said.

"I nearly didn't notice that first time. What if I fed it to my kids? It might have made them sick."

Carran wanted Fonterra, who owns the Mainland brand, to sort out its production so she could trust the products again.

Fonterra food safety manager Tim Kirk said a mechanical issue on a single production line had caused a tear in a small number of grated mozzarella packs.

"This has allowed air to enter the pack, causing mould to develop in some instances. The mechanical issue has now been resolved.

"While the mould would likely taste bad, there is no risk to human health."

He apologised to Carran for the inconvenience and said the company was contacting her directly to resolve the issue.

Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPIs) food compliance manager Melinda Sando said generally mould in cheese would be a quality concern rather than a food safety issue.

"In this instance the response appears appropriate," she said.