No botulism threat from dairy giant’s whey product

Dairy giant Fonterra’s products at the centre of a global contamination scare this month did not contain a bacteria that could cause botulism, and posed no food safety threat, New Zealand officials said yesterday.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said tests showed that whey protein concentrate manufactured by the world’s largest dairy processor contained clostridium sporogenes, which cannot cause botulism, but which at elevated levels can be associated with food spoilage.

Original tests conducted by Fonterra and a New Zealand government research institute had indicated the presence of clostridium botulinum, raising fears that infant formula and sports drinks made from the product, which are widely exported, could be potentially dangerous.

Products that may have contained the whey protein were recalled by multinational brands in a number of markets, from China and Southeast Asia to the Middle East. It also prompted bans in Russia and Sri Lanka, while other countries stepped up scrutiny of Fonterra’s dairy products.

“We went to world-leading labs, which are accredited and can test for this. That has given us a clear and definitive sense that it isn’t clostridium botulinum,” MPI acting director-general Scott Gallacher told reporters. “There is no food safety risk here.”

Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings said he was “very relieved” that the MPI’s tests showed the products did not pose any food safety risk. He said Fonterra “did the right thing” in announcing the possible risk.

“When you go through a global recall, you know it will affect your reputation,” Mr Spierings told reporters. “If we had not acted on this, and if something had happened with one child in the world, then it would have caused a massive reputation issue in the long term, or even you could be wiped off the map.”

Mr Spierings said Fonterra’s interim tests had isolated the possible presence of either clostridium sporogenes or clostridium botulinum, and that the final stage of testing had shown a positive result for botulinum strain. He said he would not judge any mistakes which may have occurred in the testing process. Fonterra has said the contaminated whey protein concentrate was caused by a dirty pipe at one of its processing plants. The MPI said it began its own tests in early August after being informed by Fonterra of the possible contamination.

New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser said the scare based on Fonterra’s initial test result was “an embarrassment” to the country, whose reputation as a source of clean, safe food products was questioned by global consumers. Fonterra controls around a third of the world’s dairy exports.

“The consequences of this have been very serious; [we’re] not comfortable about that, and we need some answers to how all this happened,” he told Radio New Zealand, noting that a government inquiry into the affair was one of four currently underway.