Farm sector backs Fonterra

Farmers, politicians and regulators have moved to support Fonterra, which denies claims its milkpowder could be responsible for excessive hormonal levels in Chinese infant formula which have caused babies to grow breasts.

Finance Minister Bill English said today the Government had a lot of faith in New Zealand's dairy industry.

"It's (Fonterra) got among the world's best food safety and quality systems," he said.

"We're confident Fonterra can deal with it (the claims), but it is pretty important to our future that our dairy industry is seen as providing world-class quality product.

"Any story like that's a concern: whether it's founded in fact or someone just made it up, it needs to be dealt with," Mr English said

Fonterra said today it was "100 percent confident" about its products after parents and doctors in Hubei in eastern China's Shandong Province voiced fears that infant formula produced by dairy company Synutra International had caused at least three infant girls to develop breasts.

Synutra told media yesterday the milkpowder in the formula was all imported from New Zealand, but a spokesman for Fonterra said that though the New Zealand company supplied whole milkpowder to Synutra, the Chinese company also sourced some milk locally and imported whey powder from Europe.

Separately, the state-run Xinhua News Agency cited Yao Hui, deputy head of the endocrine department of Wuhan Children's Hospital in Hubei, as saying three of four babies treated for the condition of premature breasts had never used Synutra baby formula. Yao told Xinhua the fourth baby was switched from Synutra to other brands last year.

Fonterra said hormonal growth promotants are banned for use on milking cows in New Zealand, and strict legislative controls meant it was not necessary for New Zealand milk or milk products to be routinely tested.

Federated Farmers dairy section chairman Lachlan McKenzie said he was totally confident in the quality of New Zealand milk exports.

"Hormonal growth promotants are not used on New Zealand milk-producing cows," he said.

"We have total confidence in the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and our milk exporters. If there is something untoward, then it won't be from New Zealand."

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority said it was seeking clarification about the media reports from China

Chinese Health Ministry spokesman Deng Haihua told a press conference yesterday that food safety authorities were testing samples of infant formula made by Synutra and there was also a medical investigation into the cause of the infants' conditions. He said oestrogen hormones were forbidden in milkpowder products.

Synutra, listed on the US Nasdaq stock exchange, said in a statement that it had never added man-made hormones or any other illegal substances to its milk products, and that all its products were safe.

- NZPA