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| 13 aug 2013 |
09:40 |
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Fonterra botulism scare prompts inquiry
New Zealand will soon begin probing into the Fonterra milk scare just one week after the dairy giant announced it had found bacteria which can cause botulism in batches of its whey protein concentrate for use in infant formula destined for China, Russia and other countries. According to Securing Industry, a total of 20 tons was shipped directly to consumer and animal feed clients with another 18 tons blended in-house and incorporated into approximately 2,300 tons of other nutrition products.
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Though Fonterra was able to recall the affected products within 72 hours, questions remain how the contaminated product was allowed to enter the supply chain in the first place. The New Zealand Harold reports that the country’s Government plans to push a bill through Parliament within the next three weeks to allow a “short, sharp” government injury into the scare.
Prime Minister John Key expects the bill to be passed quickly to expedite the investigation. “Once these inquiries are complete, I want to be able to travel to China and look down the barrel of their television cameras with the answers as to why this happened, give consumers confidence that it's been fixed and all issues have been identified,” Key said. Fonterra has also announced it will complete two of its own internal investigations.
"It is critical that we identify... lessons quickly, so our farmers, governments, customers, consumers and unit holders can again have full confidence in Fonterra and its products," Fonterra chairman John Wilson said in a statement. Meanwhile, Fonterra is facing more headaches. On Saturday, Fonterra announced it had recalled two batches of a milk powder under Sri Lankan government orders over chemical Dicyandiamide (DCD) allegations.
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