新西蘭牛奶被曝含毒 出口商稱無危害大綱

Fonterra, the world's largest dairy exporter, said on Monday it has reassured its global customers that New Zealand dairy products are safe following the discovery of traces of a potentially toxic substance in milk samples.

The New Zealand firm said its testing had found "minute traces" in some of its products of dicyandiamide (DCD), a chemical used in fertilisers to prevent them from soaking into rivers, which can be toxic in large amounts.

Reports of the DCD detection prompted Taiwan, Chinese mainland and Malaysia to examine their dairy imports at the weekend, local media in those areas reported.

Fonterra, which was linked through a Chinese subsidiary to the 2008 melamine-tainted milk scandal in which at least six children died, said in a statement it had assured its customers that the detected DCD levels were no threat to human health.

"Customers are satisfied with our answers and the anxiety is dying down," Chief Executive Theo Spierings said later on Radio New Zealand, describing reports questioning the safety of New Zealand milk as "rumours and speculation".

He said the DCD levels found in tests last year were "100 times less than European standards".

The fertiliser companies making the product have suspended its sale. Fonterra has been working with the government and the industry since last November to resolve the issue, Spierings said.

Fonterra is New Zealand's largest company with revenues of around NZ$20 billion ($16.8 billion), and is looking to expand in Asia to tap into the region's growing demand for dairy goods.

More than 90 percent of milk collected in New Zealand is exported, mainly for use by other firms as an ingredient in everything from infant formula to cheese on frozen pizzas.

The news prompted slight selling in the New Zealand dollar late last week, while also weighing on the price of Fonterra's shareholder fund.全球最大乳製品出口商恆天然公司本週一稱，繼其生產的牛奶樣品中發現潛在有毒物質後，公司已向全球消費者做出保證，新西蘭奶製品可放心食用。

這家新西蘭公司表示，經檢測發現其部分產品中含有微量雙氰胺。雙氰胺用於製造化肥，防止化肥滲透進河流，造成河流大面積中毒。

據臺灣、中國大陸和馬來西亞的當地媒體報道，由於有關奶製品中檢測出雙氰胺的報道頻頻出現，促使這些地區於本週末對其進口奶製品進行檢查。

恆天然在中國設有子公司，這一子公司曾捲入2008年三聚氰胺奶粉醜聞事件，當時造成至少六名兒童死亡。該公司在一份聲明中稱，它已向消費者保證奶製品中檢測出的雙氰胺含量不會對人體健康造成危害。

該公司行政總裁西奧•斯皮林斯隨後在接受新西蘭廣播公司採訪時說道：“消費者對我們的答覆很滿意，顧慮也由此減弱。”他將質疑新西蘭牛奶安全性的相關報道定性爲“純屬謠言與臆測”。

他表示，去年檢測出的雙氰胺含量“還不到歐洲標準的百分之一”。

生產這種產品的化肥公司已暫停產品銷售。斯皮林斯稱，自去年11月份以來，恆天然就一直同政府和化肥產業進行合作，尋求解決方案。

恆天然是新西蘭規模最大的公司，年收入近200億新西蘭幣（合168億美元）。公司目前正尋求拓展亞洲市場，滿足該地區與日俱增的奶製品需求。

新西蘭超過90%的牛奶都出口國外，主要用於其他公司生產產品的原料，從嬰幼兒配方奶粉到冷凍披薩中的奶酪無一不包。

該消息的報道導致上週末新西蘭幣輕微貶值，與此同時恆天然公司股東基金價格也被重新估值。