Infant formula maker Nutricia, which is owned by Danone, has said it is considering its legal position after it emerged that Fonterra's whey protein products had never posed any threat.
Nutricia recalled about 67,000 tins of its Karicare infant formula products in New Zealand as a precaution when news of the botulism contamination broke.
The New Zealand government’s AgResearch at the time said it had detected the botulism-causing bacteria Clostridium botulinum in batches of Fonterra whey products.
This week, however, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said further testing had shown the only organism detected in the suspect batches of whey protein was Clostridium sporogenes, which is not capable of producing botulism causing toxins.
The MPI confirmed that, on the basis of this information, there was never a food safety risk associated with any Karicare products made with whey protein concentrate.
According to MPI, there are no known food safety issues associated with Clostridium sporogenes, although at elevated levels certain strains may be associated with food spoilage.
"We sought additional testing at both local and international laboratories, seeking the most robust results we could get. Scientists used a range of methods – all came back negative for Clostridium botulinum," said MPI Acting Director General, Scott Gallacher.
Nutricia Australia New Zealand general manager, Corine Tap, has since told a press conference in Wellington that testing undertaken by Nutricia on its products, including extra testing implemented after the product recall, had never shown any evidence of contamination.
She said Nutricia is considering its legal position, however, she said the main objective for the company was to regain the trust in the Karicare brand in New Zealand.
According to Fonterra, the question of whether it could take legal action against AgResearch would be dealt with as part of its internal review into the whey protein scare.
Like Danone, Fonterra has also said it is focusing on rebuilding its reputation.
Nutricia recalled about 67,000 tins of its Karicare infant formula products in New Zealand as a precaution at the time of the scare.
