New Zealand Dairy Product Safety Questions and Answers Are New Zealand dairy products safe to consume? Yes. The New Zealand Government has issued a statement assuring all consumers that New Zealand dairy products are safe mpi.govt.nz What is DCD? Dicyandiamide (DCD) is an agricultural chemical. In New Zealand it is used to increase grass growth and reduce nitrate leaching from the soil into rivers and streams. Why has DCD’s use in New Zealand been suspended? Tests indicate that minute traces of DCD could get into some dairy products. Testing has shown that even if DCD is found, it is at extremely low levels - well below any level that would cause human health concerns. The New Zealand Government has advised that there are no food safety issues. How much DCD have you found in your dairy products? The very low levels of DCD detected in some milk powders are 100 times lower than recommended acceptable daily intake level s under European food safety limits. The New Zealand Government has said that based on the highest DCD residue that was detected in New Zealand milk products, a 60 kg person would have to drink more than 130 litres of raw milk or consume some 60 kg of milk powder to reach the limit for an acceptable daily intake, and considerably more to have any health effects. How has DCD been used in New Zealand? DCD has been used by less than 5 per cent of New Zealand dairy farmers who apply it only twice a year. Any risks of DCD residues occurring are limited to six –eight weeks immediately after application..There has been no DCD used on New Zealand pasture since September 2012.Has Fonterra found DCD in its products?We have found very low levels of residue in a small number of products made in September: whole milk powder, skim milk powder, and buttermilk powder.Ourtesting ofinfant formula hasfound no trace of DCD.When did we know about it?From the outset, this has never been a food safety issue.However, we have been part of a Government working group dealing with this since November.Through this time the working group has been gathering information, sourcing scientific opinion, and conducting further testing.In early January the Government told us that there would be a voluntary withdrawal of DCD products from the market and we are fully supportive of this.Is DCD like melamine? No. The New Zealand Government advises that it is a different chemical and does not have the toxicity of melamine. What assurances can you give that infant formula is safe? Our testing last year did not detect any DCD in samples of infant formula products.But how can you be sure all infant formula is safe?The milk powder used for infant formula is mainly sourced from one of Fonterra’s specialised manufacturing plants in the upper North Island of New Zealand.Less than 0.6% of dairy farmers in this region have used DCD so we are unlikely to find any DCD residue in milk from this area. In addition, infant formula is a blended product that contains a number of ingredients (including milk powder). Since milk powder is only one of these ingredients, the chances of any DCD residue in the formula are even smaller fonterra/wps/wcm/connect/8876433e-c769-4ac6-8bc6-f5ecf8d212de/New+Zealand+Dairy+Product+Safety+FAQs+FEB+2nd.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
Posted on: Fri, 30 Aug 2013 04:49:12 +0000
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