The first report from a recent inquiry into dairy processing giant Fonterra’s whey contamination scare is expected to be released within the next two weeks.
The report consists of three sections, the first two, which should be released in the next fortnight, address New Zealand’s regulatory and best practice requirements for dairy food safety, while the third section – which assesses how the potentially contaminated product entered the New Zealand and international markets – will be finalised once the Ministry for Primary Industries completes its compliance investigation.
The Mercury reports that New Zealand’s Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye have said that they have received the report and will consider its recommendations.
It is believed that the contamination scare was caused by an unsanitary pipe at the company’s Hautapu plant in May 2012.
The company feared that the whey protein concentrate could contain a bacterium that can cause botulism – a potentially fatal paralytic illness. However, further testing revealed that the bacterium was not actually present, and that there was no health risk.
The false alarm resulted in widespread recalls around the globe with several countries halting supply of the company’s products.
Gary Romano, managing director of Fonterra also resigned from his position a few weeks after the botulism scare was announced.