China has suspended imports of milk products from New Zealand company Fonterra after it emerged that its products may contain a contaminated ingredient that could cause botulism.
Fonterra announced that its products might be contaminated after it discovered the bacteria in whey protein manufactured at one of its New Zealand plants. China is a major market for Fonterra and for New Zealand dairy products. Fonterra is behind approximately 89 percent of New Zealand’s milk production and most of its exports.
The company announced the contamination in a statement made to New Zealand’s media on Friday. The country’s Minister for Primary Industries, who is responsible for managing New Zealand’s dairy industry, stated that New Zealand “understood that China has suspended imports of milk powder” exported from New Zealand.
Analysts believe that the block on New Zealand dairy imports could be a serious issue for the country in the near term. Paul Bloxham, an economist specialising in New Zealand and Australia at HSBC in Sydney, claimed that the case could have an ‘influence on the New Zealand dollar and on markets in New Zealand on Monday.’
Several Chinese companies have quarantined products imported from New Zealand in order to ensure that they aren’t affected by contaminated ingredients. Coca-Cola Co. announced that it had quarantined whey protein products from New Zealand in an effort to minimise the potential impact of the contamination.
Other countries, including Russia, have suspended imports of Fonterra products in the immediate term in an effort to eliminate contamination. The products made by Fonterra were also imported into China, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and several Asian markets such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
