The Government has received 19 public submissions to its inquiry on Fonterra’s whey botulism contamination scare.
The deadline for submissions on the false alarm in August closed yesterday.
The Government established the inquiry after recalls of baby formula it was feared may have contained a toxin capable of causing botulism sparked panic among consumers in New Zealand and overseas markets.
Overseas tests ordered by the Government after Fonterra’s risk announcement found the contamination posed a food spoilage risk, but was harmless.
French food giant Danone, whose baby-formula products had to be recalled, has threatened to sue Fonterra for at least $326 million for reputational damage.
The Government’s inquiry will be in two stages.
Stage 1 will review the regulatory framework governing food safety in the dairy industry and the recognised practices that apply in New Zealand, including a comparison with other comparable jurisdictions.
The inquiry, chaired by Miriam Dean, QC, whose practice specialises in in commercial, competition and consumer law, will present an interim report to ministers no later than December 12.
Essentially, this stage will look at «the system».
Stage 2 will investigate the incident that originated at Fonterra’s Hautapu, Waikato, plant in 2012 and developed in 2013.
It will probe the incident’s causes, the testing and verification undertaken in response, the subsequent recall and communications, and the response of the regulator and recognised agencies.
This part of the inquiry is suspended until after a separate investigation into compliance around the scare by the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Essentially, this stage will look at what happened at all stages of the incident.
The inquiry team will make a final report after stage 2.
Other members of the inquiry are Dr Anne Astin and Tony Nowell. Professor Alan Reilly will be the expert reviewer of the inquiry’s reports.
The Fonterra board has launched its own investigation into the incident. Its findings are expected soon.
Source: Stuff