New Zealand receives threat of infant food contamination over pesticide use

In an attempt to put a stop to the practice of using an agricultural poison on pests such as rats and possums, suspected environmental activists have allegedly threatened to contaminate infant food in New Zealand.

New Zealand police revealed that several letters had been sent to the national farmers’ group and dairy giant Fonterra in November 2014, with packages of infant formula containing the poison 1080.

The letters had demanded that the usage of the poison should be stopped by the end of March.

However, police also said that the poison was not found in any of the products in the factories.

The toxic poison 1080 is used extensively across New Zealand to control pests, including stoats, rabbits, deer, rats, and possums, which damage wildlife and forests.

New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) said that it was working closely with the police to respond to the threat.

Urging people to not be scared of the threat, MPI Deputy Director-General Scott Gallacher said: "We are confident that New Zealand infant and other formula is just as safe today as it was before this threat was made. People should keep using it as they always have.

"Regardless, we encourage people to be vigilant when buying infant and other formula. Our advice is always to check packaging for signs of tampering. We are reinforcing that advice as a result of this blackmail threat."

The ministry said that since receiving the threat, it had worked with various agencies to strengthen security measures such as enhanced milk and milk product testing, including a new 1080 testing programme, increased vigilance by all relevant players in the supply chain, extra physical security at manufacturing premises and retail stores, and an audit programme to confirm dairy processing facilities continue to maintain the highest level of security and vigilance.

It also confirmed that no more threat letters had been received.

Fonterra, who control approximately 90% of the country’s milk supply, said that it had conducted in-house tests since January and had not found any traces of the poison in its dairy products, including infant formula powder.

Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings said in a statement: "We can fully assure our customers and consumers that all of our milk and products are safe and of high quality, and our supply chain continues to be secure and world-class.

"We have taken immediate and decisive steps to give our customers and consumers added confidence – including increased testing and security measures."

---

Image: The New Zealand police said that threat letters about the contamination of infant food were sent in November. Photo: courtesy of Keerati/freedigitalphotos.net.