China Blocks NZ Milk Powder Over Botulism

Some brands of baby milk formula from New Zealand contain whey powder which could cause the food poisoning botulism, authorities have warned.

Up to 1,000 tons of dairy products - including milk powders used for sports as well as babies' formula - have been recalled from shelves in seven countries.

The move comes after the New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra announced tests had turned up a type of bacteria that can cause the illness.

China, one of the countries where the products are exported to, has responded by blocking all imports of milk powder from New Zealand, an NZ minister said Sunday.

China is New Zealand's biggest market for exported milk powder.

Demand for imported milk products has risen sharply after a series of scandals over tainted baby formula in China, leading to limits on sales of formula in other countries, including the UK.

It is not known, at this stage, whether China's import ban on New Zealand milk will have a knock-on effect on baby milk availability in the UK.

New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser said the ban was "entirely appropriate", as consuming the whey products could lead to the potentially fatal illness.

China has not officially announced a ban. It said on Saturday it had contacted New Zealand's embassy and asked it "to take measures to prevent the products in question from influencing the health of Chinese consumers".

Mr Groser said the situation with Fonterra was "very serious". As well as China, the whey protein concentrate had also been exported to Australia, China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and Vietnam.

"The authorities in China, in my opinion absolutely appropriately, have stopped all imports of New Zealand milk powders from Australia and New Zealand," Mr Groser said on Television New Zealand's Q&A programme.

"It's entirely appropriate they should have done that. It's better to do blanket protection for your people then wind it back when we, our authorities, are in a position to give them the confidence and advice that they need."

In China, several domestic brands of baby milk have been hit by scandals

The symptoms of botulism include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, followed by paralysis, and it can be fatal if not treated.

There have been no reports of any illness linked to consumption of the affected whey protein.

The problem is believed to have been caused by unsterilised pipes at a factory in Waikato .

Fonterra's milk products managing director Gary Romano said three affected batches of whey protein weighing about 42 tons were made in May 2012, adding that Fonterra has since cleaned the pipes.

The affected batches were found to contain the toxic bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism, but it was only discovered on July 31 this year.

New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries says the tainted product was mixed with other ingredients to form about 1,000 tons of consumer products which were then distributed worldwide.

Some of the affected product ended up being used by New Zealand company Nutricia which makes the Karicare line of formula for infants aged over six months.

Nutricia has locked down all five batches of infant formula it believed contained the tainted product but New Zealand advised parents to buy different Nutricia products or alternative brands until all tainted Nutricia products had been recalled.

Russia's Ria Novosti news agency reported that Moscow was "recalling Fonterra's products, including infant formula and advised Russian consumers not to buy the company's other products".

Dairy exports are one of New Zealand's major earners. According to government data the dairy industry contributes 2.8% to New Zealand's GDP and about 25% of its exports. It is worth NZ$10.4bn (£5.2bn) annually.

In 2008, six babies in China died and another 300,000 were sickened by infant formula that was tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical added to watered-down milk to fool tests for protein levels.

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