Legal action possible on botulism scare

Corine Tap

Legal action could follow the Fonterra botulism scare, with one of the hardest-hit companies saying it was considering whether to pursue compensation.

Nutricia, which recalled some of its Karicare baby formula products this month, said it was considering its legal position after the Ministry for Primary Industries said Fonterra's whey protein concentrate had been cleared of a botulism-causing bacterium.

A spokesman for AgResearch, which is standing by the testing that sparked the scare, would not say whether it was facing any legal action over its tests.

Infant Formula Exporters Association chairman Michael Barnett said legal action was the last thing on smaller formula exporters' minds.

"The big issue for these guys is trying to placate their markets, trying to get back into the China market in particular, and restoring confidence with their retailers, with their distributors."

Barnett said unlike Fonterra, smaller exporters did not have the balance sheets to write the episode off as a bad experience.

"For them, it's not really a case of who was wrong and who was at fault - it's how quickly can I get back into the market, to rebuild my networks and do something about the trust and confidence that these people did have in my brand."

Nutricia Australia New Zealand general manager Corine Tap said the company was considering whether it would seek compensation or pursue legal action against Fonterra or AgResearch.

The company recalled all of its Karicare Stage 1 new baby formula and Karicare Gold+ Stage 2 follow on formula products this month.

The recall was later narrowed to batches manufactured between May 21 and August 2 this year.

Tap said the company's own testing had always shown the products were safe and had no botulism contamination.

The company had recalled about 67,000 tins of formula as a precaution.

Its products were now back on New Zealand shelves.

Kerry Underhill, Fonterra's group director of communications, said the co-operative had been talking to its customers, but that it was too early to comment on the legal issues.