Food industry scandals and economic expansion have proven fertile ground for the business interests of foreign food enterprise looking to grow their Chinese market share. Chinese consumers weary from years of dishonest and dangerous food industry practices by indigenous enterprise have increasingly looked overseas for their quality produce. In China imported foodstuffs are often synonymous with quality and dependability especially those from Australia, New Zealand and the EU. This positive image and the increased buying power of China’s noveau riche, has seen companies which find their market niche do incredibly well.
However the latest dairy scandal may well have shattered the rose tinted glasses of Chinese consumers, the blame falling squarely on the shoulders of New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra.
On 3 Aug 2013, Fonterra, the NZ largest dairy company, informed the NZ Ministry for Primary Industries (MPT) that three batches of whey protein concentrate manufactured at one of its plants in May last year have tested positive for the food poisoning bacterium “clostridium botulinum”. The reason for this contamination was attributed to product being processed in a disused and dirty pipe. According to Theo Spierings , Fonterra’s CEO, the total amount of contaminated whey protein concentrate is up to 38 tonnes.
In fact, the milk safety issue was identified initially by Fonterra in Mar this year. Samples were put through intensive testing over the following months until the presence of clostridium was confirmed.
The impact of this incident has sent reverberation throughout the global food industry the ripples of which will have implications for a diverse range of products exported to numerous countries. In a statement made by the NZ MPT, the contaminated whey protein used in a diverse range of products was exported to Australia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Saudi Arabia. It was used as an ingredient in more than 870 tonnes of infant formula, juice/dairy beverage, yoghurt, body building powder and also in stock food.
After the food safety issued was made public, China’s AQSIQ and CFDA have prioritized dealing with this issue and responded rapidly by issuing a total product recall. The affected companies in the mainland, including China’s largest beverage producer Wahaha, coco-cola Shanghai, Dumex (a sub-brand of Danone) and Abbott are recalling related products from the market.
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