Fonterra should have kept scientists in loop - microbiologist

The latest independent research involved a total of 195 tests in the United States and New Zealand, with results arriving overnight yesterday. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A University of Auckland microbiologist says Fonterra should not have left scientists in the dark over its false-alarm botulism scare.

The Ministry for Primary Industries said yesterday that the bacteria found in some of Fonterra's whey concentrate was not the botulism-causing Clostridium botulinum, but Clostridium sporogenes, which has no safety issues.

University of Auckland microbiologist Siouxie Wiles told Radio New Zealand it was understandable why the mistake was made, but scientists should have been kept in the loop about what was happening.

"If you are growing these organisms they look the same, but when you test them for the presence of toxins that's when you see the differences," she said.

"From the very beginning we were saying 'what have you found? Which toxin is it? Is it the one which affects humans or is it the one that affects cattle? How much have you found?'

"None of that information was released to the scientists, who could at least speak to the media, or to the media themselves."

Scientists could have helped to explain to the public what the risks were.

"If Fonterra had started the story by saying 'we have found this organism and it has the potential to be Clostridium botulinum but we don't know yet'. That's very different to saying to the pubic: 'Oh my goodness, we've found Clostridium botulinum, everyone's babies are at risk'," Dr Wiles said.

After the contamination scare, China temporarily suspended imports of Fonterra whey powder and dairy base powder, and Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus banned Fonterra products.

Additional testing commissioned by the ministry of the original samples tested by AgResearch led to Fonterra and the ministry initiating the precautionary recall on August 2.

The latest independent research involved a total of 195 tests in the United States and New Zealand, with results arriving overnight yesterday.

The ministry's acting director-general, Scott Gallacher, said it needed to act on what it knew at that time. "The information we had then said there was a food safety risk to consumers, and we moved quickly to address it," he said.

Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings. Photo / Richard Robinson

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings said the co-operative had done the right thing with the recall, and would do the same again if confronted by similar circumstances.

"I believe that we ... made the right calls all the way through this," he told a news conference. "Of course it was not an easy product recall."

Spierings acknowledged there had been confusion and anxiety arising from the complexity of the precautionary recall, and apologised for it.