Melbourne dairy processor Oz Dairy Foods has said it will improve its production processes and quality control procedures following high profile problems relating to the use-by dates on its infant formula product in China.
The supplier, blender and packer of Australian dairy products, which was accused on Chinese television of tampering with the expiry dates on milk powders last week, has instead pointed to a print label mistake.
According to the accusation, which aired on the China Central Television's (CCTV) show, 15 Gala, Oz Dairy Foods had altered the expiry dates on its OZ Milko baby formula cans. Oz Dairy managing director Christopher Murfett, however, has said the formula was actually within date and the mislabelling was an innocent mistake.
The company has also confirmed that all of the OZ Milko product had been recalled to Australia and that none of the product had entered the China market.
In a statement, OZ Dairy Foods said it was presently fully cooperating with the regulatory authorities in both China and Australia as well as its distributors and customers in China to rectify the issues raised.
“OZ Dairy Foods would like to confirm that no previous shipments of Infant Formula Milk Powder and packaging have ever had any packaging or quality issues,” it said.
“OZ Dairy Foods will further improve the production process and the quality control procedures.
“Oz Dairy Foods would like to again apologise to China consumers and our distributor partners for any inconvenience caused," the company said.
OZ Dairy Foods also said it would provide a detailed report once the investigation by government bodies in China and Australia had concluded.
