Updated
New Zealand company Fonterra says Australia's exposure to contaminated whey protein has been restricted to animal feed.
Australia is one of seven countries which has received the Fonterra product which could be tainted by bacteria causing the potentially fatal paralytic illness, botulism.
Whey protein is used in infant milk formula, some sports and health drinks and animal feed and Australian livestock feed company Maxum is also one of Fonterra's customers.
But Fonterra's managing director of milk products, Gary Romano, says Maxum identified and contained any of the suspect product before it hit the feedlots.
In New Zealand, two Nutricia Karicare infant milk formula products have been recalled in what is being described as a precautionary measure.
Nutricia says there is no recall in Australia. The botulism scare threatens to up-end New Zealand?s dairy exports, worth more than $10 billion a year.
Trade minister Tim Groser says China ? the biggest market for Kiwi dairy products - has now banned all milk powder imports from New Zealand.
He says Australia is facing Chinese import restrictions as it uses New Zealand dairy ingredients in its export products.
Australia's Department of Agriculture says it has received no notification of any product ban from China.
"The authorities in China, in my opinion absolutely appropriately, have stopped all imports of New Zealand milk powders from Australia and New Zealand," Mr Grosser told New Zealand television.
In a statement on its website, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine identified the companies as Dumex Baby Food Co Ltd, a subsidiary of France's Danone, two subsidiaries of Wahaha Group, one of the largest beverage manufacturers in China, and the state-owned Shanghai Sugar, Tobacco and Alcohol company.
Economists said domestically produced Chinese dairy supplies were at low levels and Beijing's ban on imports from New Zealand and Australia would tighten supplies on the consumer market.
"Domestic production in China has been fairly weak, so potentially there could be a shortage of product for a while," ANZ economist Con Williams told Reuters. He said China would in the meantime likely turn to the United States and Europe.
Other countries also were reportedly halting imports and ordering recalls of New Zealand-made dairy products.
Russia suspended imports and circulation of Fonterra products, ITAR-TASS news agency said, quoting consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. Media reports said Thailand had also ordered a recall of Fonterra products imported since May.
ABC/Reuters
Topics: food-processing, food-safety, food-poisoning, diseases-and-disorders, food-and-beverage, animal-nutrition, new-zealand, australia, china
First posted
ozzie guillen ozzie guillen buster posey eric holder eric holder carole king crystal renn
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.