Danone discloses impact of NZ scare

French Danone's Dumex baby formula

French food giant Danone says the NZ botulism scare will impact sales of their infant formula.
Source: AAP



FRENCH food giant Danone says third-quarter sales of its baby nutrition division will be lower because of the New Zealand milk powder botulism scare and it is considering compensation options.


The owner of the Nutricia brand released a statement on Friday in which it outlined the impact of the food scare involving batches of whey protein produced by New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra and steps it is taking to restore sales.

Prime Minister John Key is urging companies considering legal action against Fonterra to wait until inquiries into the botulism false alarm have been completed.

On Wednesday, the Ministry for Primary Industries revealed further testing had shown a suspect batch of whey protein was not contaminated and there had never been a health risk.

Danone said that following a statement by the New Zealand government and Fonterra on August 2 warning that batches of ingredients supplied by Fonterra to four Danone plants in Asia-Pacific might be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum bacteria, the group recalled selected infant formula products from sale in eight markets as a precautionary measure.

The recalls had a significant impact on the baby nutrition division’s sales in Asia.

“The division’s third-quarter sales will be down, but despite this, our group is on track to deliver organic growth of around 5 per cent this quarter,” Pierre-Andre Terisse, Danone’s chief financial officer said.

Danone is reviewing its recourse and compensation options, he said.

Nutricia recalled about 67,000 tins of infant formula as a precaution. However, all products are now back on New Zealand shelves.

Mr Key, who says Fonterra did the right thing when it alerted the government to the possibility of a serious health risk, believes it’s too early to decide who is to blame.

And he doesn’t think it’s wise to rush into court.

“Rather than have lawyers at 10 paces, we should let the inquiries do their job,” he told reporters.

Source Article from http://news.com.au.feedsportal.com/c/34564/f/632570/s/309cb0fb/sc/24/l/0L0Snews0N0Bau0Cbusiness0Cbreaking0Enews0Cdanone0Ediscloses0Eimpact0Eof0Enz0Escare0Cstory0Ee6frfkur0E122670A80A192380Dfrom0Fpublic0Irss/story01.htm

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