Baby product warning prompts fresh concern
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
A warning to Kiwi parents to stop using a popular baby formula has prompted fresh concerns about protections for New Zealand consumers.
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) said yesterday that four Nutricia
Karicare Gold Plus products, on supermarket shelves for more than six months,
contained an additive not cleared for use in New Zealand.
Dutch company Nurtricia has rejected the authority's concerns over a laxative-type
ingredient in the baby formula as "alarmist".
The formula is used in about half of New Zealand's hospitals.
The warning follows last month's recall of Chinese toothpaste containing a chemical used
in anti-freeze, exposing weaknesses in a safety regime officials concede ultimately relies
on consumers to read labels to protect themselves.
The four products identified as a risk by the authority were Karicare Nutriprem Gold Plus
Ready to Feed Pre-term Formula, Karicare Gold Plus Ready-to-Feed Infant Formula,
Karicare Gold Plus Infant Formula and Karicare Gold Plus Follow-On Formula.
The authority's acting director-general, Andrew McKenzie, issued the warning, saying the
products contained fructo-oligosaccharides (Fos) used to soften babies' bowel motions.
He said the use of Fos made such products "non-compliant under the joint Australia
New Zealand Food Standards Code".
Fos, which is refined from vegetable matter and can be synthetically produced, is permitted in Europe.
McKenzie said Nutricia, which makes its baby foods with all New Zealand-sourced ingredients, had been asked to remove the offending products from the market.
But NZFSA officials said they were unable to force a recall because under New Zealand law they would first have to prove Fos was harming children.
They said two Canterbury parents had complained that their babies suffered diarrhoea when using the formulas, and a rival manufacturer also contacted the authority.
NZFSA compliance and investigation director Geoff Allen said New Zealand babies should not be used "as a test case".
"We are talking about the most vulnerable part of the New Zealand population and one that is the most exposed to this particular product. I don't think we could afford to take any risks," he said.
"We have no evidence to show that this product is unsafe, causing illness or causing ill health in people in New Zealand. If we had, we would have recalled the product."
Christchurch mother of three Amber Hamilton said: "I've been using it for five years. My older two boys had it. I fed it to them for the first year of their life.
"I bend over backwards to give them the very best food. Things like this are a little bit disturbing. I rushed out and bought another brand."
She said she went through a 900g tin a week.
NZFSA assistant director for joint food standards Jenny Reid said authorities had asked Nutricia to remove the product from the market, but had been refused.
Nutricia Australia and New Zealand managing director Toni Brendish said the company was "extremely disappointed" and that its infant formulas were safe.
She said Fos, also called inulin, had been a permitted food ingredient since 2001 and she was confused by the NZFSA's ruling.
"We have been engaged in discussions with them for many months over this," she said.
Nutricia is part of Koninklijke (Royal) Numico NV, a Netherlands-based multinational that operates in over 100 countries.
The NZFSA and Nutricia say they will now go to court to seek a judicial interpretation of the laws involved.
