By PHILIPPA STEVENSON agricultural editor
Fonterra chairman John Roadley has refused to comment on the "Powdergate" scandal rocking the dairy industry.
Company shareholders yesterday contacted the Business Herald, calling for "the rats aboard ship" to be driven from the industry.
They say a culture of lawbreaking, deceit and mismanagement could flow into the
$12 billion mega co-op formed by Kiwi Dairies, NZ Dairy Group and the Dairy Board.
The appeals followed a Business Herald report detailing a web of companies linking Kiwi to a multi-million dollar illegal dairy product export scam.
The scandal is the first challenge to the national champion and flagship company status Mr Roadley has promoted for Fonterra.
But the company leader would not say anything yesterday. Instead, Fonterra's position was put by a public relations spokesman.
The spokesman, Mathew Hooton, said the company's board regarded the matter of illegal exports with utmost seriousness.
A thorough and aggressive investigation was being conducted by accountancy firms KPMG and Deloittes with assistance from other agencies.
"There is an investigation that will look into all matters that your story mentions."
He said a person sacked over the scandal worked for a Kiwi subsidiary which he would not name.
He would not identify the region or country in which the person worked or give reasons for the dismissal "because it is in the past".
No matters had been referred to the police or Serious Fraud Office.
Meanwhile, inquiries have shown that the US Food and Drug Agency detained a number of dairy product shipments from Kiwi's Australian subsidiary, Cottee Dairy Products.
FDA documents show that four shipments described as WPC80 stockfeed, were detained in April because of misbranding.
Industry sources said WPC80 was a valuable, high-grade whey protein concentrate that would never be sold for low stockfeed prices "unless it's been very badly contaminated".
