February 21, 2009

Fonterra has announced that none of its products contained melamine after the company was informed that an ingredient supplied by a supplier had tested positive for melamine.

Fonterra's German-based supplier Budenheim had warned that an iron supplement it supplies, Ferric Pyrophosphate, was melamine-positive.

Fonterra uses very small quantities of the iron supplements in 12 fortified whole milk powder products, but had immediately stopped all production using the supplement and was sourcing for a replacement product.

An undertaken extensive retesting of retention samples of the affected batches of Fonterra's milk powder products, which eventually tested negative.

Fonterra is working with the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) and progressively reviewing each batch of product to ensure that the product is safe to go to market. Extensive and intensive research has been undertaken throughout the world to determine appropriate food safety levels for melamine.

Group Director Manufacturing and Supply Chain, Gary Romano, said: “based on all current world standards there is absolutely no health risks to consumers.

"The New Zealand Food Safety Authority guidelines for these products is 2.5 parts per million, and the Authority regards any concentration below 0.1 parts per million as a negative result," he said.

Fonterra has calculated that, given the small amount of iron supplement used in some of its products, if melamine was present in the finished product it would be at levels 50 - 100 times lower than the NZFSA guideline.

Budenheim is supplying Fonterra with a new iron supplement product which has tested negative for melamine and no further production of the relevant WMP will be undertaken until the new iron supplement is received.