National Foods and Fonterra yesterday announced they had entered into an agreement which would allow Fonterra to acquire the SKI yoghurt licence and associated intellectual property if National Foods’ proposed takeover of Dairy Farmers is approved. National Foods, owned by Japanese-based Kirin Holdings, made an offer to purchase Dairy Farmers for $910 million which was unanimously recommended by the Dairy Farmers Board in late August. Shareholders in the Australian dairy co-operative have until... ...Read more »
In the wake of the Chinese milk scandal, which has led to the deaths of four babies and made of 54,000 infants ill, international food safety and health authorities are working together to determine the level of melamine in food that will present negligible risks to public health. “Since the identification of the problems in China, food safety authorities all around the world have been working to identify public health threshold levels for melamine,” Dr Geoff Allen, NZFSA (New Zealand... ...Read more »
Following the contamination of Chinese milk products with the chemical melamine, China has removed over 7,000 tonnes of dairy products (primarily powdered and liquid milk) from retail outlets and food standards bodies around the world are testing Chinese milk-based imports and issuing precautionary product recalls. Australian food safety authority FSANZ yesterday instigated a recall of White Rabbit candies after White Rabbit candies in New Zealand and Singapore were found to contain high levels... ...Read more »
The number of infants sickened by tainted milk products has swelled to 53,000 according to the latest reports from the Chinese Government, with China’s Chief Quality Supervisor, Li Changjiang, stepping down in the wake of the scandal. Li is the highest ranking official brought down so far by the dairy product contamination scandal, according to the official news agency of the Chinese Government (Xinhua). Wu Xianguo, the Communist Party chief of Shijiazhuang City - where Sanlu Group, the first... ...Read more »
Fonterra’s Chief Executive Andrew Ferrier has told media today that he has been “frustrated” with the handling of the contaminated milk issue by Chinese authorities. A baby milk formula produced by Sanlu, a company which NZ dairy giant Fonterra has a 43 per cent share in, has reportedly been responsible for two deaths and over 400 cases of illness amongst infants. The Sanlu Board and Fonterra were made aware of the contamination of the formula on August 2, when a trade recall was... ...Read more »
A probiotic, or “good bacteria”, isolated by Fonterra, has been found to be effective in reducing the occurrence of eczema in young children by almost 50 per cent.A two-year trial of probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus strain HN001, or DR20, conducted by the University of Otago’s Wellington School of Medicine and Auckland University also showed that by the age of two, infants who had been given DR20, but who contracted eczema, had less severe symptoms than children who had not taken... ...Read more »
Mainland is conducting a voluntary recall of their Feta Crumble product due to the detection of Listeria monocytogenes in a limited number of samples. Their 200G Feta Cheese is to be recalled from Coles and independent supermarkets, with the 500G variety to be withdrawn from cafés and restaurants until the issue has been resolved. Food Product: Feta Cheese Name of Product: Mainland Feta Crumble 200g & 500g packs Package Description & Size: Pouch pack with zip lock - 200g & 500g Use... ...Read more »
Kirin Holdings, Japan’s largest brewer and owner of Australian-based National Foods, has won the battle to acquire dairy co-operative Australian Co-Operative Foods (ACF) Limited (Dairy Farmers). In conjunction with Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, National Foods outbid other interested parties, which reportedly included Saputo and Murray Goulburn. Dairy Farmers announced today that National Foods will acquire all of the shares in the Co-operative for a cash consideration of $5.65 per share,... ...Read more »
Fonterra farmers would see the proposed changes to the Raw Milk Regulations as a step towards a more even playing field around competition, but they would be concerned by the timeframe for change, according to said Fonterra Chief Executive Andrew Ferrier.”The key point in the Government release is that our competitors have access to our milk at a cheaper price than we are paying our own farmers. Our farmers will be disappointed that the changes will not be implemented sooner and they will be... ...Read more »
Parmalat has failed to reach an appropriate agreement with their proposed joint venture partner, Murray-Goulburn, as they seek to acquire Dairy Farmers. The two companies withdrew their application for ACCC clearance on Friday, with the Italian dairy giant citing an inability to come to a suitable arrangement as the reason for the decision. “Parmalat SpA communicates that no mutually satisfactory resolution on terms and conditions has been reached and consequently Parmalat has withdrawn from... ...Read more »