Friday, 23 August 2013 01:45
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Public remains unconvinced with protests staged outside Fonterra factory
By Uditha Jayasinghe
Heralding a possible end to the contamination scare caused by dairy giant Fonterra, the Government yesterday cleared all milk products imported after 1 June from DCD contamination.
However, the public remained unconvinced with over 200 people staging a protest outside the local Fonterra factory demanding that all products be withdrawn. A court order preventing the sale, distribution or advertising of Fonterra products in Sri Lanka until 3 September is also still in effect.
Science and Technology Minister Champika Ranawaka, who oversees the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) which initially uncovered the presence of dicyandiamide (DCD) in local imports, assured that samples tested since 1 June 2013 had not revealed any traces of the chemical. “If there is any suspicion at all, we will not allow DCD contaminated products into the country. We will not allow DCD contamination even though internationally, it is not listed as an extremely toxic product,” he told a packed press conference.
High level officials from New Zealand who had met with Ranawaka had also assured that no imports of milk powder from 1 June would be sent to Sri Lanka. Two batches of New Zealand milk giant Fonterra’s imports were banned by Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry two weeks ago for containing toxic agricultural chemical dicyandiamide (DCD) but the company has rejected the charge. 39 metric tons of milk powder was recalled and products such as chocolate that could also contain contaminated milk powder or whey protein has also been ordered off shelves. Sri Lanka is the fifth largest purchaser of Fonterra products in the world and the company also has two large-scale factories in the island producing half a million milk packets and yoghurt cups each day.
