adminBEIJING. — New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra apologised yesterday for a botulism scare that saw product recalls in China but denied accusations by Prime Minister John Key that it delayed releasing information. “We deeply apologise to the people who have been affected,” CEO Theo Spierings told a news conference in China, the world’s biggest market for baby formula.
But he insisted that the company had informed customers and the authorities within 24 hours of confirming the contamination problem.
Dairy product sales to China are a significant contributor to the New Zealand economy — it is the world’s largest dairy exporter with the sector accounting for 25 percent of total exports — and the scare is a blow to its reputation.
It has long promoted itself as a supplier of “clean, green” dairy products, particularly in the vital Chinese infant formula market, where consumers distrust domestically-made products after a series of food safety scandals.
Fonterra revealed at the weekend that a whey product used to make baby milk and soft drinks had been contaminated with a bacteria that can cause botulism.
Beijing ordered recalls of some potentially tainted products — including baby milk produced by Dumex, a subsidiary of French foods giant Danone — and demanded affected importers check their sales records.
A New Zealand minister said China had banned all imports of milk powder from the country, but there was no Chinese confirmation. Officials in Wellington rowed back yesterday, saying instead that Beijing had imposed a temporary suspension on imports by Fonterra.
Spierings said there were “restrictions” on some of Fonterra’s products.
“We totally understand the concern among parents,” he told reporters. “Parents have the right to know that infant nutrition and other dairy-related products are 100 percent safe.”
The New Zealand prime minister had earlier yesterday accused the company of a “staggering” delay in revealing the contamination. — AFP.
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