Contaminated Fonterra Milk Products: MPI Press Conference

The Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) expect to make a more detailed announcement later today about how Fonterra milk products became contaminated with with a bacterium which can cause botulism.

Fonterra informed MPI on Friday that three batches of whey protein it had manufactured in May last year had tested positive for a food poisoning bacterium which can cause botulism.

At a press conference in Wellington this morning MPI acting director general Scott Gallacher said there had been no reports of children falling sick from contamination so far, Mr Gallacher said.

He said it was a constantly evolving situation but MPI had the interests of consumers in mind.

Consumers should avoid all products labelled Nutricia Karicare Infant Formula Stage 1 for babies from birth, and Nutricia Karicare Stage 2 Follow-on formula for children from six months old, and not just specific batches which had been the advice from Nutricia.

MPI officials had visited the site where the contamination had occurred to ensure the manufacturing line was not still in use.

Import bans on Fonterra in oversea markets were “an appropriate response given the circumstances”, he said.

MPI would be seeking answers from Fonterra about why there was a delay in informing them about the contamination, but at the moment they were focusing on the “hear and now”.

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