The Ministry for Primary Industries has announced what it says are clear and definitive test results showing that whey protein concentrate produced by Fonterra was not contaminated with toxins that could cause botulism.
The tests that it received earlier on Wednesday showed the presence of Clostridium sporogenes, which it said may cause food spoilage at elevated levels, but did not cause any known food safety issues.
“When MPI received information from Fonterra on 2 August that it had detected Clostridium botulinum in some of its products, I immediately adopted a precautionary approach to protect consumers both here and overseas,” MPI acting director-general Scott Gallacher said.
"We needed to act on what we 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.
MPI had then commissioned a range of tests to validate the initial results Fonterra reported.
"A total of 195 tests using a range of technologies have been conducted in laboratories here and in the USA. Results from the most definitive of these tests arrived over night, and were assessed with appropriate technical advice on hand today," Gallacher said.
“We sought additional testing at both local and international laboratories, seeking the most robust results we could get. Scientists used a range of methods – all came back negative for Clostridium botulinum,” he said.
MPI had informed overseas regulators and would send them a full diagnostic report shortly. It would also revoke its statement issued under the Food and Animal Products Act on the issue.
"A failure of hygiene during processing remains a concern for customers incorporating WPC into their products. However, the concern primarily relates to quality and the potential for spoilage when used in foods that support growth of Clostridium sporogenes from spores," Gallacher said.
Fonterra request
Gallacher was speaking at a news conference that started at 4 pm. It had been called in the early afternoon. Shortly before it started, Fonterra released a statement making a 'formal and urgent' request for MPI to release the results of the tests.
”There is too much at stake for New Zealand, its exporters, Fonterra, its customers, and consumers for MPI to delay if there is any foundation to the rumours," Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings said.
Gallacher was asked why MPI had not told Fonterra of the results before releasing it to the public. He said MPI was acting as an independent regulator that was required to release the information to the public as soon as possible.
He told the news conference MPI had received early but not definitive results suggesting botulism was not present late last week, but did not want to release incomplete or uncertain information until it had definitive results. He said they arrived on Wednesday morning.
MPI defended
Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy defended the Ministry's actions, saying it did the right thing by recalling product before the results of definitive tests were confirmed.
"They've acted responsibly all the way through," he said.
"You've got to be really careful before you disappear into the false alarm territory. Companies do product recalls all time."
They said the government was relieved the tests were negative.
Fonterra announced it has resumed its consumer operations in Sri Lanka, following a thorough assessment by management that there is no risk to Fonterra staff and that the situation has now stabilised.
Spierings said: “Last Friday we took the decision to temporarily suspend our Sri Lanka operations to protect our people, and to protect our farmer shareholders’ assets.
“I am now confident that our people are safe and the business is ready to resume operations and continue selling high quality dairy nutrition to Sri Lankan people.”
The Enjoining Order, which had prevented Fonterra from selling its products in Sri Lanka, was overturned in the Gampaha District Court last Friday.
Mr Spierings said Fonterra will continue to work with Sri Lankan and New Zealand government authorities on a long-term sustainable solution to support its Sri Lankan customers, communities and the local dairy sector.
At a press conference in Auckland Spierings said Fonterra was relieved with the negative results and said the company was now in full "recovery mode" from the incident. Spierings said the original product recall by Fonterra had been prompted by results received from Crown Research Institute AgResearch.
The trading halt was lifted by the company last night.
(Updated with more details from MPI's Wellington news conference and a news conference with Steven Joyce and Nathan Guy)
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