The New Zealand High Commission in Delhi is trying to persuade Bangladeshi officials that Fonterra Milk Powder goods, a consignment of which is now on hold at the Chittagong port, have no toxic element.
Bangladeshi officials said they have also engaged in hectic lobbying to make the Bangladeshi authorities “believe” their point so that the consignment get released.
A team of New Zealand’s Delhi High Commission officials will arrive in Dhaka next week to discuss the issue with Bangladeshi officials.
More than 600 tonnes of Fonterra Milk Powder goods, a product from New Zealand based dairy giant Fonterra, is now on hold at the Chittagong port following allegations that the imported goods were polluted with a toxic bacteria which causes botulism, a rare but sometimes fatal paralytic illness.
The milk powder is now being tested by experts of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) to ascertain whether it contains Clostriduium botulinum or not.
According to commerce ministry sources, the New Zealand High Commission in Delhi has contacted ministry several times to pursue their point that the goods did not contain any toxic element. A high commission letter, dated August 28 and signed by New Zealand High Commissioner in New Delhi Jan Henderson, who is also accredited to Bangladesh, informed the commerce ministry’s additional secretary (imports) that the product stuck at the port did not have Clostriduium botulinum, but contained Clostridium sporogenes, which is not capable of producing toxins that cause botulism.
Meanwhile, BCSIR Chairman Prof Ahmad Ismail Mustafa confirmed that he received an email from the New Zealand High Commission in Delhi for an appointment to talk on the issue of Fonterra Milk.
“They are scheduled to meet me on September 8”, he informed.
It would take a few more days for the BCSIR to come up with the results of the ongoing contamination test on samples of Fonterra milk, which is now awaiting release at the Chittagong port, Prof Mustafa added.
BCSIR sources said, a four member New Zealand High Commission team, including its first secretary, was likely to be in Dhaka this week to meet the BCSIR chairman.
When contacted, the high commission’s Second Secretary Gareth Pidgeon confirmed that a team would meet with the BCSIR chairman next week.
Fonterra, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, was caught up in a contamination scare last month after it found bacteria in some of its products that could cause botulism. It also disclosed it had to withdraw 42 tonnes of milk powder bound for China because of high nitrite levels.
Sri Lanka last month ended a ban on the sale of Fonterra milk products that had been ordered after food safety authorities said they found the toxic farm chemical dicyandiamide in two batches of milk powder.
The Chittagong Customs House last week sent samples to BCSIR for testing, saying they will not allow release of Fonterra milk powder from the port until the product is cleared of contamination.
“More than 600 tonnes of Fonterra milk remains lying at the Chittagong Port since release of the products allegedly contains risk of diseases. We will decide on the issue as soon as we get the BCSIR results,” Chittagong Tax Commissioner Masud Sadique told the Dhaka Tribune.
The Chittagong Customs authority said that Fonterra milk importers in Bangladesh include, Abul Khair Group, Nestle Bangladesh Ltd, Sanowara Group, New Zealand Dairy and Pran Dairy.
