The world's largest dairy exporter Fonterra today apologised for its contaminated products that forced authorities across the world, including in China and Russia, to seize and recall its products containing toxins that could cause paralytic attacks.
"We deeply apologise to the people who have been affected," CEO of New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra Theo Spierings, who rushed to Beijing, told a news conference and insisted that the company had informed customers and the authorities within 24 hours of confirming the contamination problem.
His comments came after China's Food and Drug Administration instructed officials of three companies importing Fonterra products to "immediately stop selling and to recall all food products" made with questionable material.
The Diary giant yesterday said that tests had discovered Clostridium botulinum in its whey protein, which clients buy as raw material to produce baby formula and sports drinks.
Clostridium botulinum is one of the world's strongest toxins and can destroy the human nervous system if ingested. In infants under one year, it can trigger neural paralysis.
The scare triggered restrictions on Fonterra products imported into China, the world's biggest market for baby formula. Dumex and Karicare, both subsidiaries of French food giant Danone, issued recalls in China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand.
Russia also ordered a recall of Fonterra's products and advised consumers against using them, medai reports said.
Fonterra is the world's largest dairy co-operative and New Zealand's biggest company, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of the country's milk production in 2011. It had a turnover of USD 15.7 billion last year.
The scandal unnerved millions of Chinese consumers who switched over to foreign brands after a series of scandals, including the one in 2008 in which at least six children died and about three lakhs were poisoned after being exposed to milk powder tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical.
China's largest beverage producer Hangzhou Wahaha's Health Food Co and its Import and Export Co, as well as infant nutrition company Dumex, and State-owned food producer Shanghai Sugar Cigarette and Wine (Group) Co, were found to have imported contaminated dairy products from Fonterra.
Shanghai-based Dumex, which imported more than 208 metric tonnes of the tainted whey protein concentrate, said that 12 batches of its baby formula products had been affected.
