CHINA: Parents worry as China halts imports of milk powder from New Zealand and Australia after concerns over botulism-causing bacteria
Record ID:
1377090
CHINA: Parents worry as China halts imports of milk powder from New Zealand and Australia after concerns over botulism-causing bacteria
- Title: CHINA: Parents worry as China halts imports of milk powder from New Zealand and Australia after concerns over botulism-causing bacteria
- Date: 5th August 2013
- Summary: SHANGHAI, CHINA (AUGUST 5, 2013) (REUTERS) STAFF STANDING AT SHELVES OF MILK POWDER IN SUPERMARKET HAND PLACING MILK POWDER ON SHELF 'DUMEX' LOGO ON FRONT OF BOX BOXES OF DUMEX MILK POWDER ON SHELF STAFF MEMBER SEATED ON FLOOR TAKING OUT BAGS OF MILK POWDER BAGS STACKING VARIOUS OF 66-YEAR-OLD GRANDFATHER, ZHENG ZHIQING, HIS WIFE AND GRANDSON SHOPPING FOR MILK POWDER 'PRECINUTRI' WRITTEN ON BOX (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 66-YEAR-OLD GRANDFATHER, ZHENG ZHIQING, SAYING: "Domestic brands are no good, and now foreign brands are no good either. I have no idea how to choose. Domestic brands were exposed before, so we drunk imported milk powder. Now milk powder from New Zealand has been exposed, so when we go home we need to discuss it with the baby's mother and father again to see which milk powder we can choose." BAGS OF DUMEX MILK POWDER ON SHELVES 'DUPRO' WRITTEN ON BAG 28-YEAR-OLD FATHER OF ONE-WEEK-OLD BABY, ZHENG DEJUN, LOOKING AT TIN OF DUMEX MILK POWDER TIN IN ZHENG'S HANDS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 28-YEAR-OLD FATHER OF ONE-WEEK-OLD BABY, ZHENG DEJUN, SAYING: "My baby has just been born, and we have been using this brand (Dumex) because we thought it was a good brand. I felt very angry when I saw the news yesterday, because this could really hurt my baby. As parents, we want our baby to be healthy, so I want to buy milk powder that we can trust. But now foreign products aren't any good either." WOMAN WALKING IN AISLE MOTHER STANDING WITH BABY IN PUSH CHAIR BABY SEATED IN CHAIR MAN PUSHING TROLLEY MILK PRODUCTS ON SHELF EMPTY SPACE WHERE BOTTLES OF A MILK DRINK HAD BEEN BEFORE THEY WERE REMOVED BEIJING, CHINA (AUGUST 5, 2013) (REUTERS) WOMAN WALKING IN FRONT OF NEWSPAPER STAND
- Embargoed: 20th August 2013 21:05
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Business,General,Health,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAB6J8WMNI2GH6VR5IHX0JOM4RS
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Parents worried on Monday (August 5) after China halted imports of milk powder from New Zealand and Australia after concerns over botulism-causing bacteria.
New Zealand's Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, said over the weekend that it had found bacteria in some products that could cause botulism.
It said contaminated whey protein concentrate had been exported to China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Saudi Arabia and used in products including infant milk powder and sports drinks.
"Domestic brands are no good, and now foreign brands are no good either. I have no idea how to choose. Domestic brands were exposed before, so we drunk imported milk powder. Now milk powder from New Zealand has been exposed, so when we go home we need to discuss it with the baby's mother and father again to see which milk powder we can choose," said Zheng Zhiqing, 66, a grandfather shopping at a Shanghai supermarket.
Many Chinese consumers have taken to buying imported infant formula after hundreds of babies were sickened in 2008 by domestic powder tainted with the chemical melamine, used to increase protein levels.
Staff in the supermarket checked the dates of milk powder products to ensure they were safe.
"My baby has just been born, and we have been using this brand (Dumex) because we thought it was a good brand. I felt very angry when I saw the news yesterday, because this could really hurt my baby. As parents, we want our baby to be healthy, so I want to buy milk powder that we can trust. But now foreign products aren't any good either," said 28-eight-year-old Zheng Dejun.
Fonterra is a major supplier of bulk milk powder products used in infant formula in China, but it has stayed out of the branded space after the melamine scandal involving Chinese dairy company Sanlu, in which it had held a large stake.
Fonterra apologised on Monday for the scare which threatens New Zealand's $9 billion annual dairy trade and Fonterra's own business in a top market.
It said that products from two companies, Coca Cola and Chinese food firm Wahaha, were safe because any bacteria would be killed during processing. But some supermarkets removed some of the products as a precaution.
Protein drinks made by Auckland-based Vitaco Health Group Ltd., another Fonterra customer, were also unaffected for the same reason.
A third company in China, Dumex Baby Food Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of France's Danone, has told Fonterra that 12 batches could have been affected.
Half have been recalled as a precautionary measure and the other half remain in factories.
"The affected products amount to about 726.5 tons, and it's mainly the products in the second and third phases, in other words, the two phases for infants older than six months and for those older than one year. About 418.903 tons worth of products already on the market have had to be recalled. All of that belongs to the second phase and involves 12 batches," the deputy director of Dumex's science and regulation department, Wu Gong, said in a briefing to China's State Food and Drug Administration on Sunday (August 4).
Yang Jie, director of the Beijing Branch of Hangzhou Wahaha Group, said there had been no complaints yet.
"This batch of products went onto the market for consumption last October, and now they have basically all been sold. Because their shelf life is very short, they only have a six months quality guarantee period, but our products perhaps sell within two months. So far, we have not found complaints of adverse reactions from customers," she said.
Fonterra said they expected Chinese curbs will be lifted as soon as the company furnishes a detailed explanation of what went wrong to Chinese regulators early this week. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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