Kiwi gov't warns parents abroad of infant formula poison threat

The New Zealand government has begun warning parents and officials in major markets abroad of a threat to poison the country's infant formula products.

Three government ministers issued a joint statement Tuesday to assure consumers at home and abroad that the country's infant and other formulas were safe and that extra testing and security measures had been implemented.

The move followed the revelation by police and food safety officials that they had failed to discover who had issued the threat in anonymous letters sent to farming and dairy industry leaders in November last year in an apparent protest over the use of 1080 poison to control pests.

"We would like to reassure New Zealanders that every step possible has and is being taken to respond to this threat and ensure the ongoing safety of our food products," said Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy, Trade Minister Tim Groser, and Food Safety Minister Jo Goodhew in the statement.

"Every resource has been made available and we have treated this as a top priority. Ministers have taken expert advice on how to respond to a threat of this type and made considered decisions, " Guy said.

"The government's first priority is the safety of our food for consumers, both here and overseas. We are highly confident our products are safe and new increased dairy product testing gives even greater assurance," he said.

"It's hugely disappointing that someone would try to damage New Zealand's strong reputation for top quality products and processes. "

Groser said New Zealand officials had informed authorities in major markets about the criminal threat and the measures in response.

Goodhew said New Zealand now had a comprehensive new 1080 testing regime for dairy products that gave a high degree of confidence.

"This new testing is on top of our normal thorough testing, auditing and verification system. It is extremely unlikely that anybody could deliberately contaminate formula during manufacturing, and there is no evidence of this ever having occurred," said Goodhew.

"The advice to consumers is not to consume any food product that appears to be have been tampered with, and report it to the Ministry for Primary Industries immediately."

Police said letters were sent to the Federated Farmers industry group and the Fonterra dairy cooperative in November last year.

They were accompanied by small packages of milk powder that subsequently tested positive for the presence of a concentrated form of the poison 1080.

The letters threatened to contaminate infant and other formula with 1080 unless New Zealand stopped using 1080 for pest control by the end of March 2015.

Sodium monofluoroacetate, known as 1080, is a poison used as a pest control to protect New Zealand's native flora and fauna against introduced pests such as possums and ferrets.

Its use has been controversial over the years with opponents saying it poisons native animals and contaminates the environment. Endi