Malta Dairy Products, which produces Benna fresh milk, is still investigating the cause of the “unusual taste” that led to a recall of certain of its products earlier this week.

A number of batches of skimmed and 2.5 per cent fat milk were recalled on Monday as a precautionary measure after a particular taste was identified in milk provided by a specific supplier during routine tests carried out by the company.

A spokesman said yesterday that the company had not yet identified the origin of the strange taste.

However, tests carried out on the milk revealed no health hazards.

Several readers commenting on timesofmalta.com in the last few days said they encountered the affected batches of milk, with some reporting an aroma of “medicine” or “detergent”, while others said they did not notice anything strange.

At shops around Valletta, very few owners and shoppers said they had been affected by the recall.

More people were reacting to news about the recall than had actually encountered the contaminated milk themselves

One vendor said a number of people had tried to exchange milk cartons over the last few days but none were actually from the affected batches.

The vendor suggested that more people were reacting to news about the recall than had actually encountered the contaminated milk themselves. He added that there had been no decline in sales and very little concern expressed by customers.

Another shop owner said that he had encountered similar problems in the past when the container used to store the milk had not been cleaned properly or had been cleaned using new substances.

He added, however, that most customers were viewing the incident as a one-off occurrence.