Customs Union to inspect Fonterra dairy producers in 2014
MOSCOW. Aug 14 (Interfax) - Veterinary experts from the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan will not be inspecting the dairy producers of New Zealand's Fonterra, which has been hit by a contaminated product scare, before 2014.
"We will include an audit of Fonterra enterprises in the inspection schedule for 2014," Federal Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Oversight Service head Sergei Dankvert told Interfax.
He said a more specific date will be determined following consultations with his colleagues in the Customs Union. "The decision to ban imports of this company's products was coordinated, our colleagues from Kazakhstan and Belarus supported the decision to inspect New Zealand suppliers for compliance with the veterinary and sanitary requirements of the Customs Union," Dankvert said.
Commenting on assurances from New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries that the potentially contaminated product was not shipped to Russia or other Customs Union countries, Dankvert said this was an "attempt to mislead in regard to the guarantees of product safety given by the country's veterinary service."
"We don't see the issue in terms of whether the dangerous product made its way into our market or not, we're saying that the guarantees that New Zealand's veterinary service gave to other countries turned out to be invalid. Consequently, we have doubts and now we will check everything," Dankvert said.
He also said that his agency has received a letter from New Zealand's embassy in Moscow requesting a meeting to discuss the situation. The head of New Zealand's Food Safety Authority, Tony Zohrab has said he is prepared to come to Moscow to attend such a meeting. A decision on the meeting has not been made yet.
As reported earlier, Fonterra baby formula exported to a number of Asian countries and Saudi Arabia, as well as a shipment of milk substitute for calves shipped to a New Zealand farm, was contaminated with a bacteria that can cause botulism by 38 tonnes of whey protein that was produced from skimmed milk at Fonterra's plant in Waikato and was contaminated by a leaking pipe.
Fonterra, New Zealand's biggest producer and exporter (up to 95% of exports) of milk and dairy products, exported primarily powdered milk to Russia, which is used in production of ice cream, certain types of confectionery products and infant formula (78 tonnes this year), as well as butter.