'Human errors in life happen' – Fonterra
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says it is too early to point the finger at what went wrong, or why, as fallout continues from the contamination of some of its products.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says it is too early to point the finger at what went wrong, or why, as fallout continues from the contamination of some of its products.
Briefing local media on a conference call from Beijing in China early last night, Mr Spierings says the co-operative is first focusing on consumer health and containing the situation.
"This is a sanitation issue, which should not happen, but human errors in life do happen and this is quite a severe consequence, which we are trying to manage."
He confirmed Chinese authorities have temporarily suspended importation of whey powder and dairy base powder used in the manufacture of infant formula produced by Fonterra.
The dairy giant revealed at the weekend that some of its milk whey protein concentrate had been contaminated with bacteria which can cause potentially fatal botulism.
Mr Spierings says China has indicated further testing may be required on some Fonterra products while the embargo is in place. Whole milk powder and skim milk powder have not been suspended.
"I have expressed our strong commitment to China and the way we work and cooperate with local authorities and customers on a global level... We are looking at the whole supply chain and from the production date of May 2012."
Complex procedures
Asked why it seemed to have taken such a long time for the information to have come out, he indicated the food safety testing involved complex procedures.
"You're talking about 191 strains, out of which only a very limited number are producing toxic strains. So you have to go by the rules of microbiology in your investigation of what exact bacteria you are talking about.
"We didn't know what we had in March, we knew it in July and after we answered that question, yes, we went out with it."
Fonterra head of milk products Gary Romano chimed in, saying the timelines and the exact science will be addressed at a further briefing.
"Fundamentally the issue boils down to this: In March this year there was no indication we had an unsafe product. We had some elevated levels on a particular test but our belief and that of our scientists was the product was safe. We did not know until July 31 we had a contaminated product."
It was too early too start looking back at what went wrong and any internal control issues while the main focus was on clearing the market of unsafe products.
"When we talk about human error and doing something to correct it, I think we should really wait for the actual timeline of events here and what actually did occur. As you would expect, we will be doing a review of what actually did happen and that review will certainly be overseen by regulatory authorities. I think we will leave those questions for that time when that actually does happen."
Has there been much damage to Fonterra's brand as a result of the contamination?
"Ultimately, the answer to that is yes," Mr Romano says.
"Having given that a lot of thought over the last 24 hours I have to say we are more consumed with public health, getting on top of the data, and helping our customers do product recalls – that's where our focus has been."
Duncan Bridgeman
Tue, 06 Aug 2013
Tue, 06 Aug 2013
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'Human errors in life happen' – Fonterra
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