Melamine has been detected in an imported ingredient used to fortify food with iron in New Zealand, but consumers are not at any risk, Minister for Food Safety Kate Wilkinson said on Saturday.

The contaminated product - ferric pyrophosphate - is an ingredient used in very small amounts to fortify a range of food products with iron. Due to the significant dilution, there is no public health risk from products manufactured using this ingredient.

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra advised the New Zealand Food Safety Authority on Feb. 11 that it was investigating the possibility a mineral supplement it bought from a German company was contaminated.

NZFSA asked Fonterra to continue to hold all affected product -approximately 30,000 tonnes of milk powder - in New Zealand that contained the ingredient, pending the results of an investigation.

Two tests on the raw ferric pyrophosphate found unacceptable levels of melamine.

Fonterra has since arranged for independent tests for the final milk powder product, with all results showing no trace of melamine at the limit of detection (0.1 parts per million).

"As a result of the investigation, I am certain there are no safety concerns for consumers," Wilkinson said.

The importer involved has been identified and NZFSA has tracked down all bags of the contaminated ingredient and put a hold on its use.

The relevant European authorities were advised on Thursday night and Saturday issued a notification. An investigation started immediately to identify the source of the contamination.

Initial reports from the European Commission suggest the melamine contamination was accidental and occurred at a manufacturing plant in Spain.

The European Commission will keep the New Zealand Government up to date with its investigation.

Fonterra announced on Saturday that one of its suppliers, a German based company called Budenheim, has advised Fonterra that an iron supplement Budenheim supplies to food companies around the world had tested positive for melamine.

Fonterra uses very small quantities of the iron supplement in 12 fortified whole milk powder products, the New Zealand dairy co-operative said in a press release.

Fonterra said it had immediately stopped all production using the supplement and was sourcing a replacement product.

In addition, as an added precaution Fonterra had undertaken extensive retesting of retention samples of the affected batches of Fonterra's milk powder products.

No melamine had been detected in any of its products, it said.

Fonterra said it was working with the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) and reviewing each batch of product to ensure that the product is safe to go to market.

Fonterra's Group Director Manufacturing and Supply Chain, Gary Romano, said: "based on all current world standards there is absolutely no health risks to consumers.

"Budenheim advised us last week that testing of the iron supplement, called Ferric Pyrophosphate, had detected melamine levels above the regulatory limit. The product is commonly used to provide additional nutritional value in food," he said.

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority guidelines for these products is 2.5 parts per million, and the Authority regards any concentration below 0.1 parts per million as a negative result," he said.

Romano said all product made using the iron supplement is exported, mostly to Asia, Africa and South America - and there is no plan for a recall.

Source: Xinhua