Fonterra forced to make new recall

Fonterra has been forced to defend its brand once again after claims its milk powder sold in Sri Lanka was contaminated with chemicals.

Fonterra said yesterday that two batches of Anchor-branded milk powder had been recalled in the past week under orders from the Sri Lankan Government after reports it may have contained traces of the toxic agricultural substance dicyandiamide (DCD).

"We have been asked by the Ministry of Health to recall two batches of product tested by ITI last month," said managing director Fonterra Brands Sri Lanka Leon Clement.

The recalled products did not contain any DCD, he said.

"While independent and internationally accredited labs have carried over 200 tests on our Fonterra consumer branded products in Sri Lanka and found no traces of DCD, we are complying with this directive and removing this small amount of product from retail."

Earlier this year, Fonterra hit headlines in Sri Lanka after the country's Atomic Energy Authority claimed in Colombo's Sunday Times it had been put under pressure from New Zealand officials to suspend testing of New Zealand milk powder samples. At the time, the Ministry for Primary Industries took over damage control, reassuring all overseas consumers milk powder from New Zealand was safe. The most recent recall in Sri Lanka is likely to be another blow to Fonterra, which is already under fire after last week's infant formula scare. According to the company, three batches of its whey protein concentrate produced at the Hautapu manufacturing site in the Waikato potentially contained a strain of clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism. Fonterra executives on Saturday met Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Trade Minister Tim Groser about the scare. The Government made it clear Fonterra would not escape a more intensive probe by relying on its own inquiries into the whey contamination problem. APNZ

New Zealand milk in Sri Lanka:

98 per cent of New Zealand's exports to Sri Lanka are dairy products

Sri Lanka is New Zealand's fifth-largest market for milk powder

Fonterra has exported products to the country for over three decades

Source: New Zealand Trade and Enterprise