Struck-off exporter registers again

Foreign brands quickly filled the void and New Zealand-made formula products now command a hefty premium, selling for as much as $70 a can. Photo / Thinkstock

An infant formula exporter re-registered with the New Zealand Companies Office less than two months after being struck off for providing false details.

Wisdom Dairy was removed from the New Zealand companies register after it was found to have given false addresses and created fake shareholders.

The company, whose sole director went by the name of Yan Zhou, had its infant formula recalled by Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety in September after it was found to have insufficient iodine levels.

Yan told the Press that he had given the false details to stop his Chinese rivals from gathering information on his business, adding that fake shareholders had been created to make Wisdom Dairy appear larger than it was.

But after being struck off on March 22 this year, Wisdom Dairy re-registered with the Companies Office using the same company name on May 16.

The only difference is that its director is now registered under the name Yanlin Zhou.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said action had once again been initiated to remove the firm from the companies register.

The spokesman said the Registrar of Companies Integrity Unit would be watching for any new registration attempts by Wisdom Dairy and would consider what, if any, enforcement action it would take against the firm.

Chinese state television put the heat on New Zealand's infant formula manufacturing industry in news stories broadcast in China last month, which raised concerns that this country's reputation for high-quality food products - the driving force behind more than $2 billion in annual dairy exports to China - may have been damaged.