UPDATE: Nutricia Karicare follow-on formula products for children from 6 months old identified as potentially containing contaminated whey protein from Fonterra's Hautapu manufacturing facility. Read more here.

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Fonterra is not saying whether New Zealanders may have bought infant formulas or sports drinks made from a product contaminated with a bacteria that can cause the potentially fatal illness botulism.

Fonterra's head of NZ Milk Product, Gary Romano, at the press conference called this morning to explain the food poisoning alert.

The company today warned that the bacteria had been found in three batches of a particular type of whey protein concentrate - 38 tonnes - made at its plant at Hautapu in the Waikato in May 2012.

At a briefing this morning, Fonterra managing director NZ Milk Products Gary Romano said it was up to Fonterra's customers, in conjunction with their regulatory authorities, to make statements about particular consumer products if appropriate.



Asked if New Zealanders should be concerned, he said the answer for this country was the same as for overseas markets.



BOTULISM: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW



"It really is up to customers in New Zealand, and for MPI (Ministry for Primary Industries) as well, given the information that we provide to them, to take the appropriate action with that information in this market," Romano said.



It was also not up to Fonterra to say what countries the affected customers were based in. Customers had their own supply chains so it was difficult for Fonterra to say where products might be.



The contamination had been traced to a "very little used piece of pipework that was not as sanitary as it should be inside that factory during the course of the production of those three batches", Romano said.



"That piece of equipment has been subsequently cleaned, and further product coming from that plant has been tested and all clear."



In a statement today the company said its customers used the affected concentrate in a range of products including infant formula, growing up milk powder and sports drinks.



WORKING FAST



Eight customers had been advised of the quality issue and they were urgently investigating whether any of the affected product, which contains a strain of the bacteria Clostridium, was in their supply chains. If necessary, consumer product would be recalled.



There had been no reports of any illness linked to consumption of the affected whey protein. Dairy products such as fresh milk, yoghurt, cheese, spreads and UHT milk products were not affected.



Fonterra said it first identified a potential quality issue in March, when a product tested positive for Clostridium. There were hundreds of different strains of Clostridium, most of which were harmless.



"Product samples were put through intensive testing over the following months. On Wednesday 31 July 2013, tests indicated the potential presence of a strain of Clostridium (Clostridium botulinum) in a sample, which can cause botulism."



"We are doing everything we can to assist our customers in ensuring any product containing this ingredient is removed from the marketplace and that the public is made aware," Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings said.



PAST SAFETY ISSUES



"Our focus is to get information out about potentially affected product as fast as possible so that it can be taken off supermarket shelves and, where it has already been purchased, can be returned."



Fonterra was working closely with the Ministry for Primary Industries to keep regulators in this country and overseas informed.



Ministry for Primary Industries acting director general Scott Gallacher said the ministry's focus was on ensuring no contaminated products were on the New Zealand market.



"We are working with Fonterra and its customers, to identify if there are any products posing a risk," Gallacher said.



"At present, we are continuing to verify information provided to us, and we will update further if any products are identified. Products on the market will be recalled if they are found to contain the contaminated protein."



The Government had advised appropriate regulatory authorities overseas.



"We are also working with Fonterra to establish what has happened, how it happened, and what can be done to ensure it does not happen again," Gallacher said.



According to official Chinese government figures, six babies died and more than 200,000 became ill from drinking melamine-tainted milk. Twenty-two Chinese dairy companies were found to have melamine in their products although the infant formula produced by SanLu contained the highest levels.



Past food safety issues Fonterra has been associated with include the Chinese melamine scandal, which came to light in September 2008. It was revealed that infant formula containing the industrial chemical had been produced by Chinese dairy company SanLu, in which Fonterra had a 43 per cent stake.



Fonterra said it had made it clear to SanLu that the only acceptable level of melamine contamination was zero.