New Zealand's food scandal

With dairy products representing a quarter of the country's economy, no one (even the PM), is dismissing the possible impact of a major food scare.

NZ's dairy reputation under threat

New Zealand's reputation is under threat as Fonterra oversees an international recall of contaminated products, including infant formula.

Radio New Zealand,

6 August, 2013

Fonterra on Saturday announced the international recall of 900 tonnes of contaminated products, including infant formula.

Thirty eight tonnes of contaminated whey was produced in May 2012, by a dirty pipe at one of Fonterra's processing plants in Waikato.

China is the destination for 19% of New Zealand's dairy exports. It has banned all imports of New Zealand milk powder products as has Russia.

Financial Times Beijing bureau chief Jamil Anderlini toldMorning Report that this latest scandal is a blow for Chinese consumers already concerned about the safety of domestic products.

Listen to more from Jamil Anderlini on Morning Report

Imports are highly prized in China after a tainted milk formula scandal in 2008 killed six babies and made 300,000 infants sick.

Tim Groser.

New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser said China's action was "entirely appropriate".

"It's better to do blanket protection for your people then wind it back when we, our authorities, are in a position to give them the confidence and advice that they need," he said on Sunday.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce told Morning Report the scare is a serious economic risk, especially if it is not resolved quickly.

Listen to more from Steven Joyce on Morning Report

The BBC reports China has named four domestic companies that have imported potentially contaminated products from New Zealand. According to state media, these companies have begun a recall.

Other countries affected include Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. Russia is also reported to have begun a recall of Fonterra products.

Fonterra said there had been no reports of any illness linked to the affected whey product.

The dairy industry powers New Zealand's economy, with the country exporting up to 95% of its milk.

Safety questions

The Ministry for Primary Industries says it needs far more information before it can say how safe some milk powder products are.

MPI acting director Scott Gallacher told Morning Report that there have been no cases of infant botulism reported in New Zealand, since any of the potentially contaminated products have been on the market.

But Mr Gallacher said parents should avoid those products, until the ministry has better information about whether they are safe.

He said if anyone is worried their child might have had contaminated formula, they should immediately contact a doctor.

Listen to more from Scott Gallacher on Morning Report

The Ministry of Primary Industries is recommending babies not be given two Nutricia products - regardless of the batch numbers

Those products are:

Karicare Infant Formula Stage 1 for babies aged up to 6 months

and

Karicare Follow On Formula Stage 2 for babies aged from 6 to 12 months.

The ministry is recommending parents are caregivers use alternative products until further notice.

Other companies

Fonterra has listed the international companies affected by the contamination scandal.

Danone, which owns infant formula company Nutricia, has since recalled two of its Karicare products from New Zealand shelves. Its infant formula in China, Dumex, has also been recalled.

Fonterra's animal feed subsidiary, NZAgbiz, has also issed a recall on a small amount of calf milk replacer.

VitaCo Health Ltd confirmed with Fonterra it used some of the contaminated protein, but Fonterra says VitaCo has since carried out health checks on its products and is confident their goods are safe.

An unnamed company in Vietnam has issued a recall, although Fonterra wouldn't confirm what the company's name or product was.

Fonterra named one of the two animal feed companies affected in Australia as Maxim, but Fonterra says both companies have managed to keep any affected product out of the market. The other company was unnamed.

In China, Fonterra confirmed both Hangzhou Wahaha and Coca Cola China received some of the affected protein, but both companies are confident none of their products have been contaminated.

This is how Hong Kong media is covering the subject

Botulism bacteria found in New Zealand dairy products

Beijing tells NZ to ensure tainted goods don't reach Chinese consumers

Beijing yesterday demanded New Zealand take "immediate measures" to protect Chinese consumers after global diary giant Fonterra said it had found a bacteria that can cause botulism in some of its products.

South China Morning Post,

5 August, 2013

China, which buys most of its imported milk powder from New Zealand, asked domestic importers to recall any products that may have been contaminated.

A Hong Kong government spokesman said the city did not import the affected products.

Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, said three batches of its whey protein had been contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism, which affects the muscles and in serious cases can cause respiratory failure.

Forty tonnes of whey protein had been contaminated, according to New Zealand's Ministry of Primary Industries. The whey concentrate found its way into nearly 900 tonnes of other products, the ministry's acting director general, Scott Gallacher, said.

Fonterra said most of the protein was sold to eight manufacturers to make their own products - three food companies, two beverage companies and three animal feed firms.

Fonterra said those firms would initiate any consumer product recalls.

Chinese newspaper The Mirror reported three of the customers were based in China.

New Zealand authorities have contacted officials in Australia, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam.

So far, the only product the ministry has identified as problematic is the Nutricia Karicare follow-on formula, which is popular in China. Nutricia said none of the affected batches had got to supermarket shelves.

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings is flying to Beijing this weekend from Europe to discuss the matter.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said it had asked New Zealand to take immediate measures to "prevent the products in question from harming the health of Chinese consumers".

Fonterra said the contamination was the result of unsanitary pipes at a factory in Waikato, New Zealand, and was identified in March. But it did not disclose the "potential quality issue" until the most deadly strain of the bacteria was discovered last week.

Chen Lianfang, a dairy industry analyst with Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultancy, said Fonterra was China's largest supplier of imported milk.

The announcement comes as Fonterra is planning to launch its own branded milk formula in China, five years after its involvement in a scandal in which melamine-tainted infant formula killed at least six babies and made 300,000 ill. Fonterra previously held a 43 per cent stake in Sanlu Dairy, the company at the centre of the crisis.

Professor Wei Ronglu, of the Western Dairy Development Association, said China should improve its dairy industry instead of relying on imported products.

"If the government had done a better job, Chinese consumers would not be so miserable depending on overseas products."

The incident prompted shock and criticism in the country. Liu Kai, a mother in Beijing with a three-year-old boy, relies on foreign formula powder. "I thought only Chinese producers would do such things," she said. "It's way too late to tell us now. Most of the problematic products might have been used already."

Unhappy about the popularity and high price of foreign dairy products, Beijing launched an anti-trust probe in June, forcing foreign brands, Fonterra among them, to lower their prices.

China bars powdered milk from NZ in botulism scare

Imports from New Zealand dairy giant halted after products used by mainland companies were found to be contaminated with bacteria

South China Morning Post,

5 August, 2013

Beijing has halted all milk powder imports from New Zealand after several major drinks and baby formula companies were found to have used products contaminated with bacteria that could cause botulism.

The products were manufactured by Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter.

Trade minister Tim Groser told Television New Zealand that Chinese authorities had imposed the ban on all milk powder products from the country, including those shipped through Australia.

He said the action was "absolutely appropriate".

"It's better to do blanket protection for your people and then wind it back when we … are in a position to give them the confidence and advice that they need before doing that," Groser said.

The ban was not officially announced by Chinese authorities. Inquiries to the Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine were not answered yesterday.

China is the largest importer of dairy products from New Zealand, with 80 per cent of China's imported milk powder from the country, Xinhua reported.

Professor Wei Ronglu , with the Western Dairy Development Association, said the ban would not have a significant effect on the mainland's dairy industry, as similar products could be imported from Europe.

Fonterra said on Friday that three batches of its whey protein had been contaminated with clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism and affects the muscles. In serious cases, it can cause respiratory failure.

About 40 tonnes of the Fonterra products were sold to three Chinese clients. China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said four domestic companies may have been affected.

They are Shanghai Yanjiu; Dumex Baby Food, a Danone brand; and Wahaha Health Food and Wahaha Import & Export, both of which are under the Chinese food and beverage giant Hangzhou Wahaha.

Representatives from Dumex, Hangzhou Wahaha Health Food and Coca-Cola (China), which had purchased some of the imported whey protein from Shanghai Yanjiu, were summoned yesterday to meet the State Food and Drug Administration.

The watchdog urged them to stop sales of such products and to recall all goods produced using potentially tainted materials.

Dumex, which imported 209 tonnes of whey protein from Fonterra, said 12 batches of baby formula were produced from the problematic raw material, amounting to 664 tonnes.

It said some of products had not been distributed, while those that had been distributed - about 420 tonnes - would be recalled and destroyed.

Coca-Cola (China) said that nearly five tonnes of imported whey protein had been safety quarantined and that 25kg had been used to produce bottled Minute Maid fruit milk.

Coca-Cola is tracking the production and distribution records of affected products for recall. But it said the production process ensured safety, as it involved high-temperature sterilisation.